Mass Effect: The Unsung War
by RED78910
Summary: Shepard may be the greatest hero of the Reaper War, but they were far from the only one. There were untold billions of soldiers who fought and died to stop the Reapers from wiping out all advanced life. This is the story of one such group of heroes as they try to win and survive in the greatest war they have ever seen. Sequel to 'Total Eclipse' and 'A Job is a Job.'
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hello everyone, and welcome to my latest story! I've long awaited the chance to get this tale written, and hopefully it will be as fun to write and share with you as my previous ones. This is a direct sequel to my first story 'Total Eclipse' and it's companion piece 'A Job is a Job.' It should not be necessary to read those to understand the characters and their relationships with each other and motivations, but doing so might give you a better understanding of who they are then the load of info dumping early in the story. Also, just a bit of a warning now, this story will be fairly AU in some areas, and of course Shepard and Co. will have few if any appearances in the tale, though Liara is involved here or there.

I will try to keep updates once a week or so as per my previous stories, but my life is very busy, so that may not always be possible. Also, feel free to PM me with questions if this chapter is a bit confusing. I realize it is a lot to take in all at once. Anyway, that's enough of that. Onward!

**Disclaimer: Mass Effect is the property of EA and Bioware. I do not own it, or any other movie, video game, song, book, or any other form of media I may reference in this story, and I make no money off of it's publication. This work is entirely fictional. Any characters that may bear resemblance to any persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. Any opinions or beliefs expressed in this story are purely those of the character and not necessarily those of the author. **

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><p><strong>Mass Effect: The Unsung War<strong>

**Optimal Outcomes Cruiser **_**Delaney**_**. 0400. 2186. Somewhere in space.**

The man awoke with a stir and sat up on the bed. The compartment he was is was fairly spacious, having enough room for two dressers with a mirror nearby, two cabinets, a desk with an extranet terminal, and a small table. On the desk, which was near the bed, was a small picture frame in addition to the terminal. On the small device was a constantly playing gallery of pictures of a small asari family, some of which included the human and a large krogan. The human looked around and smiled at the asari laying down next to him, still asleep. Her hands were curled up under her pillow and she was laying on her stomach, the covers pulled down enough to reveal some of her back. The man kissed her on the cheek gently and went into the bathroom.

As the man came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist, he stopped in front of the mirror and was reminded of all that had happened to him over the past year. He was a small human, barely 5' 8" or 5' 9". He was rather thin, and had brown hair and brown eyes. The human looked over his scars and remembered how he had acquired each of them. On his left shoulder were three healed bullet wounds from an episode in his life he would rather just forget.

_We got them out alive. That more than makes up for it. Now if I could just convince her of that._

On the man's left arm were scars from a Batarian shotgun blast. His company had fought a group of pirates in hopes of liberating slaves they had captured. They eventually succeeded in freeing the slaves and getting them the help they needed, but at great cost.

_6 of my squad killed in less than a month. Some sergeant I turned out to be._

The man turned his attention to his worst injury: a scar from a Revenant machine gun he had taken fighting the Blue Suns on Sanctum located on his mid abdomen. That fight had been one of the hardest he had ever been in. Most of his platoon had died, himself nearly among them.

_It was worth it though. If anything ever happened to her I'd..._

Blue arms suddenly wrapped around the man's body in a warm embrace and the asari rested her head on his shoulder, "Good morning Allen. Why did you get up so early?"

Captain Allen Ryan looked into the reflection of the asari in the mirror and smiled, "Just counting my blessings Herja. You chief among them."

Major Herja Pruor had dark blue skin, red facial markings around her eyes and along her crest, and light purple eyes. She stood about 6' and had an athletic figure. With a puzzled look on her face she asked what he meant by 'counting his blessings.'

Allen explained, "I'm considering myself lucky I'm still alive. You and our family are the only good things that ever happened to me. If it wasn't for you I'd still be in Eclipse, or worse dead. You're just about the only thing keeping me going."

The asari smiled, "I could say the same for you. You were always there for me when I needed you. I know I can always rely on you Allen."

Allen nodded, "Always." He then turned and asked Herja, "Any word yet from The Doctor?"

Herja shook her head. Allen responded, "Good. Hopefully that means that we don't have to go on some other far flung mission to dig up some random piece of ancient alien tech or go on some stupid recruitment drive for the Doc's private army."

"Am I hearing mutinous words coming from you Captain Ryan?" Herja gently chided.

Allen shook his head, "Never. It's a hell of a lot better then being in some random place getting shot at; it just gets dull sitting on my ass all day watching mechs digging some ancient pyramid out of the ground in hope of finding some ancient alien death ray."

Allen said in a very serious tone, "You know I'm loyal to the Doctor Herja. I am more than thankful for all she's done for us, I just-"

Herja silenced his ramblings with a hand over his mouth, "Goddess Allen, I was joking! You need to learn to relax more, you know that? Yes, I know it's been boring, but would you rather had a dozen new scars to show dad? The Doctor has us doing what she believes is important. I know it may not seem like it at times, but you just have to trust and have faith in her. When has she ever 'steered us wrong' as you humans say?"

Ryan nodded, "I know I know. Relax. It's just...hard for me you know? A year ago I was scared for my life, thinking some Eclipse merc might decide to use me for target practice. Now I have an amazing job, a family, and an amazing asari to call my own. It's just sort of a hard change to adjust to is all."

Herja grinned, "You really couldn't live without me, could you?"

Allen shook his head and stared back at her, "Never." He looked over at the shower and tilted his head, "Feel like joining me? I may ha-"

Herja practically through him into the shower and joined him before he could utter another syllable.

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><p>Herja and Allen walked onto the mess deck of the ship wearing their standard working uniform, which were black and white colored military fatigues that looked almost exactly like what several human militaries wore in the early 21st century. On the left and right bulkheads were lines of human, asari, and an occasional salarian moving toward the opposite end of the compartment towards the kitchen where the chefs on the ship handed the crew their breakfast. The galley was filled with hundreds of soldiers and crew of the ship. On several spots on the bulkheads were vid-screens showing various news networks.<p>

As Herja and Allen got in line for their breakfast, the asari couldn't help but look around admire the troops and crew of the ship. The Doctor had spent months finding the best people to assemble the battalion. Officially they were a Private Military Company operating under the name 'Optimal Outcomes.' Unofficially they were one of the special operations battalions in the army of a major galactic player and were just one battalion among dozens. All of them were outstanding soldiers, most having served honorably in their own species' military. None had criminal records like most people seemed to think of mercenaries having. Herja had grown to know many of them, and she was sure that when they went into battle again, they wouldn't let her or the Doctor down.

After Herja and Ryan got their food, they immediately went in search for one pair of troops in particular to sit with.

"Oh, he's just so cute in that! What um...exactly is that outfit?" a young asari asked a blond human female sitting across from her.

The human woman stared at the picture on her Omni-tool, a small boy maybe 3 years old dressed in a tiger striped coverall like outfit, and answered, "It's a costume Leo dressed in for Halloween last year. Remember Kara, I invited your family over but you said it was 'just too weird' to be a part of?"

Lt. Kara S'Vipul, an asari with no facial markings, green eyes, and skin a lighter shade of blue then Herja's, responded, "You dress up as whatever weird monster, movie character, or person that you can think of, go around your neighborhood, and ask complete strangers for food which might be poisoned. What the hell kind of sense does that even make Leslie?"

Captain Leslie Blake, a woman in her early 30's with shoulder length blond hair, hazel eyes, and tan skin, begged for help from Allen and Herja as they approached, "Allen, talk some sense into her please and explain all the fun you can have at Halloween."

Allen just shook his head, sat down next to the other human, and started eating, "Sorry, can't help you. I never celebrated Halloween growing up on Omega. Didn't have much time for that unlike you people living on the Citadel since just after first contact."

Kara smiled as Herja sat down next to her, "Morning mom. You two sleep well?"

Herja and Kara's relationship was...complicated. Both of the asari's mothers served in the Serice Guard and moved to the asari world Sanves after they retired from military service. Hildra, Herja's mother, had eventually settled down and bonded with a krogan bounty hunter named Jursk.

Kara's mother Prima however had not been able to find a bondmate, choosing instead to have a one time encounter with a turian to conceive. The failure on Prima's part to find a bondmate meant that she had to work more than Hildra did raising Herja. Prima also worked very difficult hours at her job as a case worker for abandoned and abused asari children.

When Kara was born Herja was 53 years old, just starting her adult life. Prima asked the young asari to help care for her daughter. Herja accepted. However, the more the years went on, the more Prima was away. For the first 20 years of her life, Kara actually thought Herja _was_ her biological mother. By the time she learned that wasn't the case it didn't really matter. Kara attached on to Herja and Herja loved the younger asari like they really were mother and daughter.

They were inseparable until the day Herja left home to become a mercenary, Kara following soon after. Herja often wondered what Prima thought of her. She wondered if Prima hated her for what might be seen as 'stealing' another asari's child, but in the end she didn't care. Kara was her daughter and she would never apologise for loving and raising her.

Looking over at her daughter Herja answered, "Yes. Allen and I always enjoy sleeping together."

Allen choked a bit on his coffee when he heard that. When he regained his composure he asked, "Did you have to put it _that way_?"

Kara laughed, "What's wrong _Dad? _You embearassed knowing that I know what you two get up to when you two are alone?"

Allen responded, "First off, no I'm not ashamed or anything, it's just something you don't talk about where I come from. Especially not when people are eating. Second, I'm not your dad."

Kara leaned forward on the table, "No, but you want to be, don't you? Seriously, just go get a bracelet and make mom an offer. You're not getting any younger you know."

Allen just sighed and shook his head, "Leslie can you Please talk some sense into your friend so I can eat in peace?"

The blonde woman just smiled back, "Sorry Allen, I'm not the one dating an asari with a daughter 3 times my age who just happens to act like a 17 year old."

Turning back to her friend Leslie commented, "In fact, for a battle hardened mercenary, you sure don't seem very mature."

Kara smiled, "Hey, you need to see funny side of things in life. Or at least try to make things funny. If you can't do that, how can you expect to cope? You have to laugh in life Leslie, and I'm always serious when I need to be." Kara turned to Herja, "Besides, I'm just trying to make sure my mom has someone she can be happy with."

Herja said, "Thanks, but I think Allen and I are fine with our relationship as it is right now." She turned to face Ryan, "Right?"

The two had formed a relationship soon after they had met during their brief stint in Eclipse together. Both needed someone they could rely on, neither had a way out, and both found strength in the other. It seemed to be a good situation for now. Still...Herja was an asari. That meant she was a planner. Sooner or later, she and Allen would need to really decide if they wanted to truly bond or go their separate ways. Allen always told Herja whenever she would bring this topic up that they didn't need to talk about this now. That they had time. Herja knew that just simply wasn't the case.

Asari could live for 1000 years, and Herja was only 114. Herja in 100 years would the exact same person she is now. In 100 years, Allen would either be dead or very close to it. Herja tried to not think about the future. Not to plan ahead, but she always would. Allen was always patient in trying to help her, but he knew it was a lost cause. Until one of them made a decision to propose and try making their relationship official, this little cycle of talking about the inevitable and hastening decisions would continue.

Allen nodded as he took a bit of a biscuit, "Perfectly fine."

Leslie asked, as much for a real answer as much to break up this topic of conversation, "So, is your family still visiting Herja? My mom would love to see you all again. Just don't break the table this time!"

Herja sighed, "Dad doesn't know his own strength! He didn't meant to break your table, and who makes a table out of wood and not stone or metal anyway? It's just one more thing you humans do that-"

Leslie cut her off, "Ok OK I'm sorry. After all, your mom did buy me a new one. I'm just making sure I won't have to get any more new furniture after the one's I already bought."

Herja looked at her friend and smiled, "I promise I'll keep dad in line."

Leslie was a good friend of Herja and Allen's, and she was especially close to Kara. Leslie Blake joined Eclipse when 2 years of job searching on the Citadel had proven useless. Her job teaching literature at a school was lost when the school was destroyed during the Battle of the Citadel, her husband was killed in the same event, and she had her mother and a young son to support. Out of options, she resorted to desperate means to survive.

Allen had joined Eclipse when his mother had been killed one night on Omega and most of his belongings stolen. Allen had originally planned on deserting the first chance he got, but then he met Herja. Herja joined because she had met an Eclipse commando when she was working as a waitress on Sanves and was told it would be a good job. Herja knew Kara joined _a _mercenary army because she needed to find work, but part of her would always feel that Kara joined Eclipse because of her.

Of course, none of that mattered now; they were no longer part of the organized crime syndicate that called themselves a 'security company.' Instead, they served a much better master. One who may not always have the galaxies best interests at heart, but a boss who would always look after them: The Shadow Broker.

Just as Herja was about to open her mouth to speak again a male human voice rang out, "Good Christ! Look!"

The four officers looked at the nearest vidscreen and all felt a chill run through their spines. News reports from all over the galaxy were showing cities being burned, destroyed, decimated by giant squid looking machines. By monstrosities that walked through buildings and were firing beams of molten metal into crowds of fleeing people. By...Reapers.

Herja could hardly breath. _So, it's finally here._

Human and Turian news reports already showed their worlds being burned, and asari reporters were already speculating on when they would be attacked. The Salarians, for now at least, seemed to be out of the firing line.

_That won't last for long._

The ship's VI announced over the intercom, "Major Pruor, incoming transmission for you in the comm room."

The asari bolted from her seat and ran to receive the call. The comm room was a small room only containing a holographic projector and enough room for a few others to stand in the room at once. When Herja reached it, there was a blue tinted image of an asari in a white outfit.

Herja took a moment to catch her breath before saluting and reporting, "Dr. T'Soni, it's good to see you safe ma'am!"

Liara nodded back, "Safe is a relative term at the moment Herja."

Major Pruor looked at her boss and asked worriedly, "Do you need help? We could launch a rescue-"

Liara put up her hand, "No, that will not be necessary, though I appreciate your concern." She looked at her feet for a moment before looking back, "It seems they have come at last. Are your people ready?"

Liara T'Soni had recruited Herja and what remained of her company after she lead the defense of a human colony from a Collector attack with only minimal civilian losses. Herja had at first been reluctant to work for the Shadow Broker and was shocked to learn that her own hero was working for the largest criminal in the galaxy, but eventually Liara had made presented her with the best possible deal she could hope for. Herja would report directly to Liara, not another faceless agent of the enigmatic Broker. The young asari would have full control to handle assignments as she saw fit, and only missions would be given that were vital to the security of the galaxy.

Herja was absolutely loyal to Liara, or The Doctor as most of Herja's troops referred to their 'handler' as Liara called herself. The Doctor had gotten Herja and the others out of Eclipse, given them more money than they could ever need, (although Herja and her makeshift family were already loyal to Shepard, Liara, and any other member of the Normandy crew who helped defeat Saren. Money didn't really motivate them as much as it did most people,) given them the best equipment in existence, and since joining the Broker's private army Herja had not seen battle once. This was the best job Herja could ever hope to have. She was proud to be serving under The Doctor.

Herja looked at her boss and answered, "We can be fully combat ready in 40 standard hours ma'am."

Liara nodded, "That's good to hear. I'll make sure the other battalions are mobilized as well. You will be getting your first assignment soon." Liara's hologram stepped a bit closer and she said in a more hushed tone, "If you need a bit more time to say goodbye to Hildra, I don't think the Broker would need to know about that."

Hildra Pruor was a teacher at a university on Sanves that had developed a very close relationship with Liara when she studied there before she transferred to Serrice University. They had known each other for decades and although in the last few years they didn't communicate as much as they used to, they were still close and Liara had promised her mentor that she would do everything in her power to make sure Herja would come home alive after every mission. Liara had been able to keep that promise...until now.

Herja was noticeably moved by that, "Thank you ma'am. That...That means a lot to me."

Liara nodded, "Use your time wisely. I can't guarantee I can do this again. Liara out." Her hologram disappeared.

Herja sighed, thankful that at least she would have time to say goodbye to her family. She knew many would not get that chance.

_Goddess, how many families have already been wiped?_

Herja didn't think about it. All that was on her mind now was going home...maybe for the last time. She pulled up her Omni-tool and announced over the ship's intercom, "All hands, this is Major Pruor. When we get to the Citadel you will have 2 days to get your affairs in order and report back to the ship. I'm sorry it can't be longer, but we don't have much choice."

In a calmer voice she said, "May the Goddess watch over us all as we march off into the abyss to fight these demons."

She turned off the intercom, and walked back to the galley to be with the family she already had with her.


	2. Trouble on the Homefront

**A/N: **A special shout out goes out to **LogicalPremise** and **HugoCogs** for being the first to review this story. If you like dark AU ME stories, H. P. Lovecraft, Anime style action, and Heavy Warhammer 40,000 overtones, then check out **'Of Sheep and Battle Chicken'** by LogicalPremise. If you would like to read a story about Shepard and Liara after the war that has a lot of family drama and an ending you will Never see coming, then be sure to read **'Once More Unto The Breach'** from HugoCogs.

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><p><strong>Planet Sanves, Athena Nebula. 38 hours later.<strong>

Kara sat at the white marble table, her mom Herja on her left and Allen next to her mom. All Shadow Broker troops wearing their military fatigues. On Kara's right was Rota, Herja's little sister who was about 46 years old, roughly 15 or 16 by human standards. Rota had darker colored skin then Herja, blue eyes, and red facial markings along her cheeks and wore a black shirt and matching pants. On Rota's right was Jursk, a large krogan with gold colored eyes wearing his black battle armor. Directly across from Kara sat Hildra. She was several inches taller than Herja or Kara, had red facial markings over most of her face, skin the same color as Herja's, and green eyes. Hildra wore a dark red robe with black stripes running down the sides.

The family had been sitting in silence for several minutes before Hildra finally broke the silence, "Do you have any idea where you will be sent?"

Herja shook her head, "No. Liara said that we would receive orders as soon as we mobilized."

She looked at her mother, "Most likely we wouldn't be able to tell you even if we did know. With indoctrination, you never know who you can trust."

Jursk spoke up, "Cowards. Turning you against your own with brainwashing instead of facing you in a fair fight! Weak way to win a war."

Allen commented, "It's smart actually. A few key people could bring down an entire government. Even if they couldn't, mistrust would destroy enemy moral. If you can't rely on the soldier next to you, how can you fight a war?"

The krogan responded, "Who asked for your opinion human? Shut up before I decide to smash your skull in!"

Allen just shook his head and attempted to pick at his food. Although his first introduction with Jursk nearly ended with Allen being suffocated, he wasn't afraid of Jursk anymore. Krogan gave death threats to each other and other species even more than humans did. They carried them out only a fraction of the time. Allen knew by now Jursk liked him enough to tolerate him, otherwise he would already be dead.

Rota asked, "Dad, why can't I go with you to Tuchanka? I want to fight like Herja and mom but they won't-"

Hildra scolded, "Because you wouldn't survive! Tuchanka is a desert wasteland that would kill you in a day! Your father is going there to answer Urdnot Wrex's call to assemble all krogan old enough to fight the Reapers. If he wanted to take you on some trip to teach you about your heritage, I Might agree to that. But I will be damned to the Abyss if I lose you too to this war."

The matron looked as if she might cry. She uttered in a soft, almost whisper like voice, "I've lost so much in my life Rota. My sister, my parents, my soldiers. I can't lose all of you as well."

Rota looked down at her plate, unable to look her mother in the eye.

Kara sighed. This was how they would be spending their last night together? Making small talk and feeling miserable? They should have gone out and partied. They should be drinking in the bars, feasting in the restaurants, and fighting with whomever thought them wrong in doing so. Kara looked at Jursk and smiled.

_Krogan. At least they know how to have a good time._

Kara was about to suggest they leave when the door to the apartment opened behind her and an asari matron walked in the door. She was several inches taller than Kara, had the same skin color and no facial markings, wore a dark blue robe, and had brown eyes.

Hildra got up from the table and hugged the newly arrived guest, "Prima! I thought you weren't going to be able to make it." Hildra gestured towards the table, "Please, eat with us. It would be good to have your company."

Prima nodded and sat down in an empty seat next to Hildra. Kara was looking at Prima until Herja nudged her on the shoulder.

Kara turned to ask, "What?"

Herja pointed out, "You were glaring at her. I know this is hard, but please try to be civil for mom's sake." Herja had a desperate look on her face as she begged, "Please."

Kara nodded and looked back at her biological mother and tried with all her might to present what appeared to be a genuine smile on her face. Kara and Prima had never really had a normal relationship. The two barely knew each other at all before Kara was about 55 and the last few years before Kara moved out were filled with far more arguments than even the normal mother/daughter relationship would have. Prima was always pushing Kara to excel in school and trying to get her to find a good job, and in retrospect it may have been a bit too much. The more Prima tried to motivate Kara, the further the rift between them grew. Eventually the two had an argument over Kara's choice to leave home and become a mercenary.

It hadn't ended well for either of them, and Kara still hadn't forgotten it. The next time she came home with Allen and her mom, the younger asari maiden had nearly gotten into a fist fight with Prima. The two had reconciled, somewhat, by the time Kara left to go to her next job, but it wasn't enough to really make up for all the time lost.

Every time Kara would go home, she would always try to talk to Prima. Her mom said it would help her let go of her past and move on, but so far that hadn't happened. Whenever the two would talk Kara would have nothing to say and Prima would only ever ask questions. So many questions! Are you ok? Do you know where you will be sent to next? Are you ok? Are you sure you're getting paid what your boss says you are? Oh, that's right. You work for the Shadow Broker, never mind. Are you ok? You didn't get shit faced in some bar somewhere and get bonded to some volus did you? Are you sure you're ok?

_If she ever really cared if I was doing ok she would have been_ home _with me instead of out helping someone elses children._

Prima asked Hildra as they began to eat, "Did you see the Guard is accepting new and retired members?"

Hildra nodded, "Yes, but if you mean to ask if I plan to reenlist, the answer is no. I've seen too many battles, too many dead, to ever go back to that." She looked over to Rota, "Besides, I have...more important battles to fight at home with my daughter."

Kara commented, "I wish more people thought like you did Hildra." The whole table looked at her as she spoke, "Realising that what happens at home is probably more important than what is happening to someone else on some far away rock."

Herja lashed out, "Kara, shut up! This is hardly the time."

The young maiden just shrugged and went back to eating.

Ignoring what had just happened Hildra asked, "Well...Prima...would you ever go back to the Guard? Even after all we went through against the Blood Pack?"

Prima smiled sadly to herself for moment before answering, "I...I already did. I leave in the morning." The table was silent and Kara had dropped the fork she was holding; the contents falling and hitting the plate.

Hildra asked, shocked, "Why...why would you do that before telling us first? Before telling me first?" The two matrons had grown up together in Serrice. They had joined together, served together, and retired together. The thought that Prima would do something as important as re-joining the military, especially now, without at least informing Hildra first was inconceivable to her.

Prima looked down at the table and explained, "Well, with no family here to support I don't really have any obligations here. My job isn't that important to me, and with the galaxy falling apart how can I not fight?"

Kara stood up and asked, a few tears falling, "So that's it then? You can just drop everything in an instant, change jobs, and 'do your part' for the good of the galaxy on a _whim? _What about us? What about the people you leave behind?"

Herja stood and put her hand on Kara's shoulder, "Kara, come on now..."

Kara just brushed her mom's hand off and continued, "What is that matter with you? Do you have any idea what you put other people through? Do you know what you put Me through doing shit like this?"

Hildra tried to reason, "Kara I'm not sure this is wise..."

Kara pointed at Hildra, "She knows what it means to be a mother." She backed up and pointed to Herja now, "And she was a better mom than I could ever hope for," she pointed to Prima as she backed up towards the door, "But you have no idea what is means to love and care for someone. Do you?"

Before anyone could react Kara turned and walked through the door to the apartment.

Herja went after Kara after a few seconds glaring at Prima. By the time she got to the door Prima called out, "Wait!"

Herja turned to see Prima walking towards her, "I'll go. I should be the one to try to reason with my daughter."

Herja yelled back angrily, biotics flaring, "She's My daughter! And do you have any idea what you just did to her? You basically just said to her that you're more than willing to die for people you know nothing about, sacrifice everything for people you'll never know half a galaxy away. That they are the most important thing to you, but you could never even be bothered to raise a single child. A child you chose to have but were too damn busy to raise yourself!"

Hildra screamed out, "Herja that's enough!"

Prima waved them both down, "No Hildra, your daughter is right. I...I never really was her mother was I?" She looked over at Herja, who was still angry as ever, "Do you know where she might go?"

After a few seconds Herja calmed down and answered as her biotics died, "If she's not out getting shit faced right now she's probably out in the fields we used to play in when she was a little girl. I assume you remember enough from her childhood to recall where those are?"

Prima nodded, "Thank you. I'll...I'll see if I can try to bring her back."

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><p>Prima set the sky car down in an open field near a large tree where she could see her daughter was sitting under. The day had long passed, and the sky was filled with a vast display of shining stars. If Prima was not here to calm her daughter down she may well have taken time to stare at them. Prima walked over to where her daughter was sitting and sat down next to her.<p>

Kara was looking upwards at the sky when she said, "It's a good thing we asari can appreciate beauty like this. If this was a human colony the light from the cities would have drowned out the light from all them. Thank the Goddess for lack of progress on this planet huh?"

Prima ventured, "Kara...I..."

Kara turned to face Prima. She had dry tear marks on her face, "You what? You're sorry for always being gone? Sorry for always placing the needs of someone else's kid before your own?"

Prima tried to control her temper, "Had I not worked you would not have had Half of what you did growing up."

Kara retorted, "Oh yeah? Mom did all the work raising me, mostly at her house. Hildra paid for most of my stuff. Where did your paycheck go?"

Prima answered, "Taxes, food, supplies you needed for school, clothes I needed for work. I didn't make nearly as much as Hildra did."

Kara shook her head and stared out into the empty blackness in front of her, "Whatever. Doesn't change the fact that you're leaving me again. Just like always."

Prima was not angry anymore, just sad. Didn't her daughter understand this had nothing to do with her? That she wasn't a child anymore and this was a completely different situation?

"Kara, I'm going to fight because it's something I have to do. This is no different than what you are doing now. Why can't you see that? Do you know how much it hurts me to see you in a uniform? Do you think that it's easy for me to-"

Kara looked at Prima again, "That's not the point! Hildra can take care of Rota, mom would always take care of me when I was young. But...But you couldn't have done that when I was a kid? I don't even remember you growing up. You were just a face that I had to call 'mother'' for some reason when my real mom left for the night. Which, really, wasn't all that often. Hell, mom was probably home more nights in your home the you were. I practically lived at mom's house growing up."

Prima sighed, "Kara, I have made many poor choices in my life. I can't change them. All I can do is spend what little time I have left with those I love." She put a hand on Kara's shoulder, "That means you most of all. I can't promise I can make up for all the time I lost. Goddess knows I've tried to over the last few months. Please, just spend one more night with me. After that, if it will really make you happy, then you never have to speak to me again. Is that OK with you?"

Kara looked at Prima. Could she? Of course, but did she want to? She had tried, really tried, to overcome her feelings toward Prima but just couldn't. She didn't even hate Prima, not really. She was just a total stranger to her. How could she possibly care for a total stranger who didn't seem to care about her when she was growing up?

It didn't matter. Kara needed to relax, at least for tonight. Tomorrow she and her mother and Allen would be going to war. If spending time with Prima would give her peace of mind, why not gout with her and try to have fun? It wasn't like she had anything else to do anyway.

Kara nodded, "Alright. Now, if we're going to spend some time together, mind if I pick some spot to go get a few drinks?"

Prima smiled, "I wouldn't want it any other way."

* * *

><p><strong>The Citadel<strong>

Leslie Blake sat on her couch with her son Leo laying on her lap asleep. She wore a dark blue shirt and black pants, her hair covering half her face as she looked at her sleeping 3 year old son. She was sitting in her living room, which was a wide open area with two large couches, a wooden table, and a large love seat. A large vid-screen was muted on the wall playing a kids show.

_This is why I work for The Doctor. He is why I do what I do._

She took a look around at all she had accumulated over the last several months and sent another silent thank you to Liara T'Soni. First for saving her life when the station was attacked 3 years prior, and again for allowing her to live again. The apartment she owned had three bedrooms, two floors, a large living room, and a rec room with a card table and a small bar. This she shared with her mother, son, and a nanny Leslie had hired to help her mother take care of Leo. Less than a year prior, instead of living in a luxury apartment on the Presidium, she was living in a dilapidated ghetto with barely enough money to buy food.

Because of Liara T'Soni hiring Leslie and her unit, she had her life back. She could give her family a life, a future. Leo would be able to go to school in a safe and policed neighborhood, her mom could finally enjoy her retirement, and Leslie could eventually, when The Doctor didn't need her anymore, go back to teaching.

Ah Sam, the nanny, went over to Leslie and gently took Leo from her lap. She was a young woman with oriental features, in her late teens, and had long brown hair and wore a dark orange outfit. Leslie kissed her son one more time before Ah Sam left the room. Leslie's mom Marji entered a few minutes later and sat down next to her daughter. The older woman wore a golden shirt and black pants. She was slightly shorter than Leslie, and a bit heavier.

"So, is tonight all you could get?"

Leslie nodded, "Yeah. The Doctor only gave us 40 hours, which expired already. We should be thankful she is willing to give us an extra few hours to get our last goodbye's in. Most of the battalions in the Shadow Broker's army are probably already fighting right now." Leslie frowned, "I should probably feel guilty at that thought, but I don't."

Marji nodded and asked in a hushed tone, "What happens when the war comes here? What do we do then?"

Leslie shook her head, "Well, we can't really go anywhere. The Doctor said she was attempting to put together some kind of safe haven for war refugees somewhere, but that's far from being ready. Besides, this is the most defended place in the galaxy. Where could be safer mom?"

Marji countered, "It was the same when Sovereign attacked, and look what happened then."

Leslie retaliated, "I know mom! My husband died in the attack, remember?" Controlling herself a bit she said in a calmer voice, "I know what you are saying mom, but what do we do? The fact is that this is the most secure place in the galaxy. I don't believe for an instant that we're safe here, but where do we go? Earth's gone, the Terminus is filled with pirates and raiders, and the Traverse wasn't even defended before the invasion. Where do we go?"

Marji sighed, "I know honey, I just...I'm so afraid of staying here. We aren't safe here like everyone says and thinks. When they come, and we both know they will, what do we do?"

Leslie thought long and hard for a moment. Eventually she answered, "We hide. We find a way off the station, and if we can't then we'll have to find some way to live. We'll find a way off though mom. The Doctor would never abandon the people here. She and Shepard will save us again. Just like they did before."

Marji nodded, "I hope so honey, I hope so."

"I know so mom. They'll win this for us. We just have to have faith, and more importantly just have to stay alive long enough to see it."

Marji nodded, "Well, I'm glad that at least I've got this one chance to see you before you leave again."

Leslie hugged her mom and stood up, "So am I. I'm going to get a few hours rest before my shuttle leaves. I'll be sure to say goodbye to everyone before I go. Goodnight."

As her daughter went up the stairs and into her room, Marji sent a silent prayer that her family would survive this war, just as they had survived _Sovereign _and the Geth. She hoped she would live to see her grandson grow up, and most of all, she prayed she didn't have to lose her daughter.

* * *

><p><strong>Sanves, Athena Nebula. <strong>

Allen Ryan took another sip of his beer as he stood next to Hildra, the asari also enjoying a drink of her own. The family had regrouped after Kara and Prima had returned and had moved to a small bar in town. The lights were drawn down, making the interior almost as dark as the night outside. There were a few asari scattered about, but for the most part Allen, Herja and her family were the only ones in the place.

Allen looked around and saw Kara sitting at the bar with Prima, each having taken several shots of some asari liquor, Jursk and Rota were at a nearby table eating some local fried food. The krogan was talking with his daughter, most likely attempting to cheer her up over not being old enough to fight Allen assumed. Herja was talking to a purple asari whom he recognised as Valkyrie O'Rada, a good friend of Herja's from a martial arts studio in town that had televised fights on most nights.

Allen took another drink and stated in a quiet and almost reluctant voice, "You know, I just never got why Prima didn't raise her own kid. I understand she has a hard job, but she was never home most nights? That can't be right Hildra."

The tall asari next to him gave a sad smile, "I'm sorry to say so, but it is. You see, Prima is a very hard worker, and when she cares enough about something, then there's nothing anyone can do to keep her from the things she loves."

Allen shook his head, "But what about her daughter? I'm sorry Hildra, but well…" Allen looked at the floor. He had grown very fond of Hildra since he had first met her, he thought of her as a good friend, and if he was being totally honest with himself, he had begun to think of her as family. Not in the sense that she would be his legal relative if he and Herja ever married, but as his actual real mother.

After his own mother had been murdered, Allen Ryan had no one. No family, no real friends, and no point in living. Herja had changed that. She was a good friend, lover, and he couldn't imagine a life without her now. She had given him a home, shown him her family, all of which now accepted him. None more so than Hildra, who had always been the kindest to him, and may well have been the kindest person Allen had ever met. It would be easy for Allen to forget that Hildra was a trained commando and had seen more battles and probably killed more people than anybody Allen had met, the only possible exception being Jursk.

This high opinion and like of the asari made it hard for him to voice his thoughts, but it was too late not to speak his mind now, "I know she's your friend, but why defend her? Kara is your granddaughter, and clearly she has a lot of issues with Prima. Why do you…" Allen tried to meet Hildra in the eyes, but couldn't.

Hildra sighed and explained, "Allen, once you have a strong enough bond with and affection for someone, you can forgive almost any of their faults. Did I ever tell you about my parents?"

Allen shook his head and Hildra explained, "You see Allen, both my parents were asari, making me what is called a 'pureblood.'" Hildra winced just at saying the word, "It a great insult among my species, and is the closest thing my people have to a racial slur. I won't go into all the details of why, but asari born to two asari parents are not usually treated very well by our kind, at least not on Thessia, least of which in a major city like Serrice.

"Growing up, I had few friends as a result of my parentage. Prima was among the few who I could call a friend. She accepted me for who I was and didn't care about who or what my parents were. That kind of kindness can earn you so much in the right person. When I asked why she didn't care about who my father was she that I was just lucky to have my father still. At first I thought that she had lost her father, as most asari do at a young age, but that was not the case.

"Prima was a lost child, a child who had no one to raise them. She had no father, her mother choosing to have no bondmate like she did with Kara, and lost her mother in a shuttle accident. As she had no other biological relatives, she grew up in an orphanage. It was...not the best place for a child as young as she was. She never forgot what it was like, and has done her best to provide for the children she has been put in charge of caring for. She may not have had much of a life at home as a result, but she did what she believed was right. I can not truly fault her for that. Even if it has not had a positive impact on Kara."

Allen absorbed all that and wondered, "Just how old was she when she lost her mom? And didn't people work on getting her adopted or something?" Allen grew up on Omega, a place lacking any kind of child services, or any kind of government at all really. Still, he was sure something would be done for a poor girl who lost her family.

Hildra frowned and explained, "She was only 20 when she lost her mother, roughly six or seven by your people's standards I believe. And to answer your other question, no. Asari do not adopt Allen. You see, we see children as the most precious things in the universe, and almost always care for them as best we can, but only if they are _ours. _Asari only see a child as their own if they are the one who gave birth to them, otherwise they...they simply don't care. A asari may take in a child from a biological relative in a case such as Prima's, but often they will refuse to do so. Even if they did, no matter how caring the home, how loving the aunt, cousin, or whoever, they would not be thought of as entirely the child of the asari who raised them."

Allen was dumbfounded. Such thoughts, basing parentage solely on biology rather than on the needs of a child just...left him without words for a few minutes.

Then Allen looked over to Herja and asked, "What about Herja? She raised Kara and thinks of her as her own daughter. Wouldn't she...I don't know? Um…"

Hildra explained, "That is likely a result of my own rejection of my people's culture and the influence from the krogan side of her family. You see krogan and asari are nearly as different as two species can be. One such way is how they view children and family. Like asari, krogan have always been nurturing, caring, and loving when it comes to their families. That is why some, such as myself, find krogan a good match. They will always love their daughters, and see them as their own in spite of them having no actual biological relations.

"A krogan sees a person not for their biology you see, but for their own strengths. A non-krogan can, in theory at least, become a member of a krogan clan. Krogan society is divided into clans, and clanless are not respected, but those with no clans can freely join any clan they choose, and they are accepted as long as they are strong and smart enough. A krogan sees a child as a being to be raised and cared for, regardless of what species it is. To them, as long as you raise a child, that child is yours. Species is irrelevant. Bloodlines are irrelevant. All that matters is the relationship you have with the child, not if you share a common ancestor or not.

"Jursk and I raised our children to think this way. To see all children as their own, no matter who their parents were. So, when Herja began to take care of Kara, she saw her as her own daughter."

Allen just stood there and tried to take in all he had just heard. A lot of it he couldn't believe. A species as violent as the krogan being so much better at parenting than a species as advanced and peace loving as the asari. Allen looked over at Herja again and saw her in a whole new light. She was even more generous for taking in Kara then he knew; if not for Herja, Kara would have had no family, and therefore, no one to turn to in life when things were looking down for her.

The human looked over at Hildra again and asked, "Have I ever told you that you and your family are the best people I have ever met?"

Hildra smiled at him, "Only every time you visit."

* * *

><p>Herja Pruor drank the last of her beer and set the bottle down and sighed.<p>

_Goddess, what a night. _

They were leaving in the morning to go fight the most powerful force in the known universe, her daughter had again been forced to deal with her issues with Prima, "Goddess Herja, how many have you had anyway?" and Val wouldn't stop asking stupid questions.

Herja turned to Valkyrie and answered, "That makes 8 tonight. Why?"

The purple asari in a dark green robe sitting across from her just shook her head, "Your ability to drink excessive amounts of alcohol never ceases to astound me. How has your liver not needed replacement yet anyway?"

Herja just waved her hand, "I don't know. Anyway, how are things at the club? Sorry I haven't been around to fight as much as I used to, but you know how it is with the galaxy falling apart and everything."

Val smiled. Herja was probably her best friend. The two had grown up together, become friends, on again off again lovers, competitors in the local amature fighting district, and always remained close. Until that is Herja left home and joined a mercenary and Val began to work at the local martial arts gym they both used to train at. Since then, though they tried to keep in contact, things had been difficult.

Valkyrie answered, "Me and most of the girls formed our own little militia, and I've got us training a lot of the people here in small arms and hand to hand combat. The club is doing alright, but competition has become a bit stale since you left. Sure you don't want to become a professional fighter? It be awesome to see you kick some real ass again."

Herja smiled but shook her head, "Sorry, I've got a daughter and a lover to watch. No time to waste with martial arts anymore."

Val nodded, "Yeah. You know, every time I see you with Allen he always seems so serious. Have either one of you made an offer yet?"

Herja sighed, "No, not yet. Honestly I don't know when would be a good time to do so, if I even decide to bond with him at all."

Val commented, "I thought you were going to settle down. Something change?"

Herja explained, "Val, I don't know what to do. I'm 114 years old. Most people our age just waste their lives in dead end jobs. Me? I've already raised a daughter, gotten a good paying job I would like to keep for a while, and may have found someone worth bonding with. Now, while this is going on, we have been invaded by an armada of synthetic spaceships from outside the galaxy. My lover and I could die on a normal day, and this isn't exactly normal. Besides, Allen loves me sure, but I don't really know for sure if he'll stay in love with me. The same is true of my feelings for him. He's a good man yes, but is any of this really enough to make a lasting bond on?" She breathed in and out again, "I just don't know. What do you think?"

Valkyrie thought about it for a while. Eventually she asked, "Will you two stay friends?"

Herja answered, "Yeah. Even if things don't work out, I'm sure we'll always be friends."

Val stated, "That's all that matters. Love is all well and good in a relationship, but if you aren't friends with someone, things just won't last. Look at us, we're still friends and nearly ended up together."

Herja reminded her, "We were kids growing up. Kids experiment. Besides, how many lovers have you ever had that were in any way serious?"

Val smirked, "Including you? 2, but that's not the point. The point is I'm right, and you know it. If I didn't know what I was talking about, you would never have put up with me."

Herja nodded and smiled. And she knew Val was right. Friendship was probably the most important part of any relationship. Herja was sure that would last with Allen whether or not things worked out. With that in mind, Herja began to think just what might change about their relationship if she and Allen were to bond. Nothing she could come up with made her think it would be a bad idea to go over and make Allen an offer right now.

Looking over at him though, she decided against it. Such thoughts could wait until the war was over, as Herja wasn't sure impending death was a good enough reason to decide to bond to someone who may be dead soon anyway.

_We've been through enough today. Let's worry about tomorrows problems tomorrow. For now though, I think I could use another drink. _


	3. A Dangerous Discovery

**Sanctum, 2 Days** **later.**** En route to Cerberus base.**

Major Herja Pruor inspected her team one last time before they arrived at their target. The troops were being transported in a shuttle that was long enough to hold 20 soldiers standing next to each other on either side, had engines on both sides of the craft, giving the impression from anyone below one when it flew that it had wings, and had turrets on either side to provide what minimal protection they could to such a large craft. The shuttle itself had heat blocking technology, light bending camouflage, and was able to absorb enemy laser sensors, thereby rendering it almost impossible to detect until it was already on top of the enemy.

Herja remembered Allen once saying that it looked like craft that many countries used to transport troops into battle centuries ago on Earth. Something called an VTOL if she remembered correctly.

The soldiers were dressed in armor that had a black and white camouflage pattern on it. The suits they were wearing were not the standard power armor suits most militaries used, but instead had plates over the torso and shoulders, knees, forearms, and thighs but left the upper arms and areas around the joints in the legs covered in only a layer of durable, bullet proof fabric that was designed to resist shrapnel. The helmet also had a clear visor in front to allow greater visibility on the battlefield and had a Heads Up Display or HUD in it. The suit had built in cloaking devices, giving it the nickname the 'ghost suit' as the Shadow Broker troops called it. The weapons they were using were state of the art plasma rifles and sniper rifles. This eliminated the need to reload in the middle of a battle, and allowed for greater chance of killing a target with a single shot, even if they had full armor on or were a krogan.

They were 38 in total, 29 humans and 9 asari, all veterans of several battles with everything from Batarian Pirates to Collectors. Herja had served with most of these soldiers for months now, some for nearly a year when she was just starting her career as a mercenary in Eclipse.

_And now we're going back to a world that nearly got us all killed. _

Herja shuddered at the thought of a botched raid that she and Allen nearly hadn't survived on the world below and went over to a tall human male with brown hair and blue eyes named Mitchell and whispered to him, "What do you say we not make this a bloodbath this time?"

Mitchell snorted and responded in a deep voice with a Southern North American accent, "As long as you call the shots that won't be a problem. Not like that idiot Vorlean."

The asari next to him, a muscular but fairly short light blue being with white facial markings around the edge of her face named Carna, laughed out, "Yeah. Was not too sad to hear that he bought it. Idiots like him just get people killed."

Herja smiled. With the exception of Allen, these two were the only survivors from the platoon of Eclipse troops she had first been a part of. She had been slow to trust them early in her career, as she believed that Allen and her were the only two soldiers in their old unit that weren't cold blooded killers. Herja was glad she was wrong.

Mitchell was a man from the Union of North American States that loved sports, but couldn't get a scholarship and decided to become a mercenary. Carna was a former student who failed out of school and had no way to pay her bills. She had served Herja as one of her platoon's medics for most of her time in Eclipse, and was surprisingly good at her job for someone who had flunked out of medical school. Both were extremely loyal and good fighters, and Herja was glad they had survived as long as they have. Good people were hard to find.

The Major put her hand on the other asari's shoulder, "Right, so I can count on you?"

Carna smiled, "Come on boss, when have I ever let you down?"

Herja smirked, "Well, there was that one time you let that Batarian prisoner bleed out."

Carna waved her off, "He was a pirate who was enslaving people and deserved to die anyway. Who cares?"

Mitchell nodded, "She's got a good point there. So, we takin' prisoners or not this time?"

Herja backed away and then announced to the group, "Alright people, here's your briefing, so listen up! Our mission today is a smash and grab on a Cerberus base in orbit over Sanctum. The Doctor doesn't know exactly what Cerberus is doing here, but she believes that Cerberus has a major science base on the station we're about to hit. Priority one is to secure the station," the tall asari looked over to Mitchell, "Scientists are to be taken alive if possible, all other hostiles are to be eliminated."

She looked back to the unit as a whole, "That said, we are engaging combatants only. That means don't kill some lab technician you find in a closet somewhere. Keep them locked up, ask them a few questions, and we tie them up and be on our way. After the station is secured, we are to locate any and all pieces of Reaper technology you can find, along with anything else you think might be valuable. Questions?"

When none raised any concerns Herja nodded, "Good. Now lets get to work." The asari took her place in the front of the line on the left side of the shuttle ahead of Mitchell and the rest of his squad, which consisted of Mitchell, Carna, and 8 other humans.

The pilot of the shuttle screamed out, "5...4...3...2...1. Go!"

The area the troops were being deployed at was a large landing zone used for shuttles and transports carrying cargo. There were several crates scattered around the area, and two stairways on either side of the bay leading into the facility. Several soldiers were patrolling the area armed with automatic weapons and assault rifles. The shuttle, which still had it's stealth systems engaged making it invisible to the naked eye, suddenly appeared over the landing zone and began to deploy the strike team.

On both sides of the shuttle the side doors opened up and the soldiers manning the turrets immediately began returning fire from the Cerberus defenders. Herja lead her stack and jumped from the shuttle, which was about 7 or so feet in the air, rolled forward several feet to give the other troops space, and in the course of a few seconds stood up and fired a singularity at three Cerberus troops armed with submachine guns suspending them in the air. She then warped a Cerberus Centurion's head off, flug his body into two other troops who were to Herja's left and about to shoot at her, and then held up abiotic shield to protect herself and her soldiers from the fire of the remaining enemy troops.

When her team had all exited the shuttle, the asari then formed a biotic wall to protect the platoon from enemy fire while giving themselves a clear line of sight. The human troops formed two firing lines, one kneeling, one standing, and systematically eliminated the few remaining hostiles.

Herja yelled out and pointed to the entrance on her left, "First and second squad on me. Third and fourth take the right flank!" The asari lead her troops though the opening and into the facility.

The door lead to a hallway that was wide enough to fit several people standing abreast and had Cerberus logos every 50 meters or so. At the end of the hallway was a series of doors. One straight ahead of the team, the others to either side of the troops. The Major signaled for one squad to take the door on the left while she took the other squad and took the other side. The asari looked behind her to Mitchell, who gave her a nod, and she proceeded through the door.

As soon as she entered the room she saw two male Cerberus technicians in lab uniforms with pistols holstered at their sides in front on what appeared to be some kind of control panel that spanned the length of the room. In front of them were also several monitors showing what appeared to be some kind of odd machine like piece of technology. Not bothering to look at that any longer however, Herja aimed her rifle at the head of one of the technicians.

"Hands on your head, now!"

Herja's troops had the two Cerberus troops surrounded and outnumbered, but they still reached for their weapons. Herja managed to only shoot the one in front of her in the shoulder and cause him to drop his weapon, but the other was killed by a bullet through the heart.

Herja surveyed the situation, "Fuck! Medic!"

Carna rushed to the aid of the wounded Cerberus technician while Herja ordered, "Diaz, get whatever you can from these computers, then take the fucking moron on the floor back to the LZ. Also, see if you can find out where these images are coming from,"

Diaz, a tall and thin human female and tech specialist, followed her orders and reported back, "Ma'am it seems to be from some kind of lab down stairs. The way there is under heavy guard though. It also says for all personnel in the area to use extreme caution when anywhere near the…"

The tech specialist squinted at the text at the panel in front of her for a few moments before continuing, "Ma'am, it labels the materials down there as 'grey-tech.' I don't know what that means ma'am, I've never heard of anything like that."

Herja thought about that for a few moments. She had no idea what that might be either.

She went over to the technician, who now had his shoulder patched up, "And just what exactly is this 'grey-tech'?"

The Cerberus technician smiled, "Well, that's classified I'm afraid."

Herja grabbed his neck and began to choke him, "I could always just take that information out of you. Would you like to know how it feels to have information pulled out of your skull?"

That shut him up rather quickly.

Herja let him go, Diaz finished downloading the data and the squad, minus Diaz who was to watch their new prisoner, regrouped with the other squad and surveyed the situation.

Herja pulled up her omni-tool and displayed a map of the base. Based on the data pulled from the computer, the level below them was where Cerberus was storing all the alien technology they had, Reaper or otherwise, and a warehouse storing much of the base's equipment was between Lima Team and it's objective. The door adjacent to the two Herja and her troops had just gone through lead down to where the cache was. The rest of Lima Team seemed to be in route, and were already clearing out the remaining defenders on their way without much difficulty.

Herja put her omni-tool away and lead her forces through the last door and down a series of stairs, eventually leading to a series of catwalks that were displayed over a large storage area with several crates stacked several feet high. Below her Herja could see Cerberus troops moving to set up a defensive line and try to stop the rest of her team.

Herja radioed to her other troops, "Team 2 be advised Cerberus forces in in warehouse. Will assist as available." She signaled for her troops to spread out and eliminate all resistance, taking a squad with her towards where Cerberus was building a barricade and setting up turrets.

The asari officer and her team readied her weapons, and as soon as the other Shadow Broker troops were about to be fired upon Herja and her squad unleashed a firestorm of biotics, grenades, and rifle fire on the enemy, eliminating them in short order.

Once the rest of the warehouse was cleared, Herja and all of Lima Team regrouped in front of a large metal blast door leading to the area where the Reaper Tech was stored. The doors were about 6 feet tall, and about 10 feet wide.

Herja pointed to the door and yelled at a demolition expert, "Ramirez, get rid of that door!"

A human male ran up to the door and began to plant a large demolition charge. When he had attached the device he turned back to the Major and asked, "Was it red-red-green or red-green-red as the detonation code? I always get those two mixed up."

Herja just scowled at the man, who just smirked and went back to his job. When he was finished he ran back and took a defensive position with the rest of his squad. The bomb did it's job, and Herja charged through the breach, only to meet a muscular Cerberus soldier who had not yet donned his armor and was a few inches taller than Herja.

The hostile lunged at the asari, but Herja gracefully skirted around him, kicked him in the back of his leg, grabbed his chin and broke his neck. Herja turned around just in time to see another armored hostile charging toward her. He attempted several punches at the asari, only for all to be dodged or blocked.

A kick from Herja straight to the chest followed by a warp quickly ended his life.

The asari looked around and saw they had just broken into the enemy armory just as the defenders were preparing for Herja and her team. Beyond the gear locker that stored the Cerberus weapons and armor Herja saw several rooms that several Cerberus troops were pouring out of, completely absent of weapons or armor, indicating this was the barracks block.

_Of course the bastards would put the tech right behind all their troops. Things just can't ever be easy can they?_

The rest of the team was through the ruined door by now and engaging the enemy troops, several of which didn't have armor or even weapons to fight with. Some were just charging the attackers, only to be gunned down or killed with a warp blast. Herja glowed brightly as she summoned her biotics and unleashed them in a tsunami of biotic power, throwing all the hostiles in front of her several feet down the hall or hitting the walls of the station with bone crushing force.

When the room was cleared the team moved to the last set of doors which lead to the research labs. Just before they entered Herja turned to her people and reminded them, "Scientists are to be taken alive if possible, along with all the technology and intel we can get. Don't shoot if you don't have to, and keep damage to a minimum."

The team stacked up on the left side of the hallway and Herja lead the platoon through the doors. The room itself was very large, at least 100 square meters with several desks, monitors, and pieces of various types of technology lying about. There were also several scientists and technicians who were either drawing weapons or attempting to flee through a set of doors on the opposite end of the room.

Lima Team advanced quickly, shooting the Cerberus personnel to wound, but careful not to kill. Herja biotically charged to the end of the room, injuring several several scientists and toppling a few pieces of technology in the process. When she got to the end of the room she exited the doors and saw they lead to shuttle pad, with several dozen shuttles scattered about and a few already leaving.

Herja quickly realised they were going to lose the scientists on the shuttles not matter what; there was no way to stop them from getting to the relay without destroying the shuttle. However, if the rest were destroyed, then the remaining scientists would have no choice but to surrender or die. Herja summoned all of biotic strength, grabbed the nearest shuttle, and began to pull it toward the facility.

The asari strained with all her might, sweat was dripping from her face and her head felt like it was about to explode, but after about half a minute of effort the shuttle came crashing down on top of the others, obliterating the pad and any hope Cerberus had of evacuating the facility.

Turning back Herja saw to her right Carna had two scientists, one female and red headed, the other male and somewhat overweight, backed up against a wall. The other asari turned to look at her superior and was about to say something when the human female reached for the asari's rifle. Carna headbutted the woman, and no sooner had she backed off then the male attacked. Carna smacked him across the jaw and unloaded several shots into the both of them.

Herja ran up to her and shouted, "Sergeant Carna, these people are useless to us if they are dead!"

The shorter asari looked sheepishly at the ground and responded in a small and defeated voice, "Sorry boss. Reflexes."

Herja took a breath and replied, "Well those reflexes of yours might have cost us valuable intel." Herja pointed to some soldiers who were taking the captured scientists back to the LZ, "Go help them, and try not to get any killed this time."

Carna nodded, "Yes ma'am. And by the way, I think you should have a look at that," Carna pointed to a piece of floating technology at a nearby table. The Major looked and saw a cube, grey in color, floating on a table with several monitors nearby, as well as what appeared to be cameras and several small shield generators on the table keeping the cube contained in a bubble of sorts.

Herja approached the table, removed her helmet and set it down next to one of the monitors. Taking a sip of water from a cylindrical canteen that was placed on her lower back, Herja began to examine the data and she couldn't believe what she was reading. She looked at the cube and then back to the screen.

_This...this just isn't possible._

Herja typed a few commands into the monitor and the shields went off. As soon as the cube was free of it's bubble, a blast of energy went straight into the ceiling and into the room directly above them. All of the people in the room went still, and were all now looking at the asari officer.

A Cerberus male technician then yelled out, "Be careful with that! One wrong move, and you could get us all killed!"

Carna then came up and put her rifle against his head and demanded, "Then how about you tell us what we're dealing with then so we don't all die! Just what the hell is that thing?"

The human snarled back, "I wouldn't expect you to understand. Your kind are always so quick to try to control everything but you can't-"

Carna smacked him across the jaw with her rifle and ordered the group to move out.

Herja turned back to the cube, which seemed to be made of several smaller blocks. Even more troubling is they now seemed to be moving. Herja turned back to the monitor to see if there were any answers there, but in an instant the blocks making up the cube rearranged themselves into a few dozen smaller cubes before forming what appeared to be a fairly thin cable about a meter long.

Herja backed up a few feet from the table, "Someone get that scientist back down here. Tell him if he can put this...thing...into a secure container without getting this station blown to the Abyss, I might just not put him in the same shuttle with Carna."

* * *

><p><strong>4 hours later. <strong>_**Delaney **_**Comms Room.**

Herja stood in front of a holographic image of Dr. Liara T'Soni, the asari officer dressed in her fatigues, the Broker Handler in her typical all white outfit.

Herja reported, "Ma'am, we captured 14 scientist and technicians, along with several pieces of Reaper Tech, medical data, and...other high value objects. No casualties."

Liara nodded, "Very good Herja. Anything else?"

Herja nodded and reported with a serious and worried look on her face, "Yes ma'am. There was a strange piece of technology we recovered. It was like nothing I've ever seen. I'll read you a copy of a report Cerberus has on it."

Herja brought up her omni-tool and began to read, "The alien technology hereto referred to as 'grey-tech' has several interesting and seemingly impossible characteristics, including but not limited to: communication between other 'grey-tech' objects milliseconds before data and energy is sent, the ability to break down and form new shapes seemingly at random, and being able to blast a beam of energy through several meters of solid metal with little or no warning. It is highly advised to treat objects with extreme caution and to put them into isolated containers with heavy energy shielding around said devices."

Herja looked to her superior and frowned, "Whatever it is we found in there Liara, it had a lot of the Cerberus personnel really spooked on the ride back to the ship."

Liara nodded and gave Herja a look that said she understood how dangerous this new material was, "I see. Any data on how it works or it's origins?"

Herja explained, "According to data we could acquire from the base, it was found in an abandon ruin from an unknown civilization in an uncharted system. In another report it was revealed the 'grey-tech' has a large amount of internal complexity but didn't specify exactly what is made of even at the atomic level. It seems to be nothing that Cerberus has been able to identify on the Periodic Table."

Liara looked thoughtful as she said, "A mysterious piece of alien technology that isn't made of anything we recognize. That's not good Herja. Especially if Cerberus is the only group that has it."

Herja went on to explain, "It seems also that Cerberus has made it their main goal right now to find more pieces. I saw a report that said efforts to locate more pieces of this strange technology were becoming more and more successful."

Liara sighed, "Then this is worse than I believed Herja. Thank you for informing me. The Broker won't like this, but this is something he should already have been aware of."

Herja nodded, "Of course Liara. What are your next orders?"

Liara informed her, "Go to the Citadel, drop off all prisoners and technology you captured, and report to the Presidium. There is a war summit being planned, and the Broker wants his people protecting it. Let's just hope you won't be needed."


	4. The Best Laid Plans

****The Citadel. 2 Days Later.****

Lt. Kara S'Vipul looked at herself in the mirror and shook her head, "This is just_...unnatural_."

"Why, don't like dressing up as a cop?" Capt. Leslie Blake asked from behind her.

Kara turned around, "No, because these uniforms don't have any _armor. _Couldn't we at least get a few plates inserted into our uniforms or something?"

The two were standing in Kara's quarters, which was nearly identical to Herja and Allen's room. After handing off the prisoners they had captured the battalion was informed that the Shadow Broker had given them the task of guarding the Citadel Council and a group of representatives from the spacefaring races as they held a war summit in the Citadel Tower.

Blake shook her head, "Something about restricting movement and not giving us enough protection. Relax, we still have shields and you've always got your biotics."

Kara countered, "Shields that get overwhelmed and biotics that exhaust me until I pass out. And then what am I supposed to do? Hope the enemy doesn't shoot me while I'm down? Why couldn't we just wear our Ghost Suits?"

Leslie sighed and pinched her nose, "I don't think a group of heavily armed mercenaries guarding the Citadel Tower would go over well with the people here Kara. Why can't you just shut up and do what you're told for once?"

Kara retorted, "I've never once disobeyed an order, and I'm just saying this is a bad plan. What if shit goes bad and we're attacked? How many people are we going to lose then?"

Leslie said in an irritated voice, "Look, I don't have all the answers, alright? I just do what I'm told and hope I don't die. You should know how things work in this job by now Kara."

Kara breathed out and looked at herself once more, "I know full well how things work Leslie. People get cheep, and then we end up dead or injured. Look, I'm not blaming you. I just know first hand what not having good enough armor can do to you. Don't you remember?"

Blake nodded and looked at the ground. _Yeah, I remember. Can't say you don't have a point._

On one of Kara's first missions with Leslie, their squad had been raiding a Blood Pack outpost. They had been ambushed, and Kara had been injured. The only reason she was still alive right now was due to her buying several armor upgrades and modifications at her mom's insistence. If not for that, the cheap Eclipse armor would have been shredded, and Kara along with it.

Blake went over to her friend and said, "I remember, but there's nothing we can do about it. Look, the summit doesn't start for a few hours. Want to get some coffee or something till then?"

Kara smiled and answered, "Sure, anything beats just sitting here. Know any good tea shops? I haven't had some decent tea in ages."

* * *

><p>The pair of mercenaries desigused as C-SEC officers walked into a rather expensive looking tea shop about a ten minute walk from the Tower, weapons on their backs. Leslie having a plasma rifle, Kara sporting a sniper rifle. None of the patrons paid them much mind though. A galactic war had left the population of the Citadel, a space station that had already survived one invasion by Geth troopers and a Reaper, if anything wanting to see <em>more <em>of a heavily armed police presence.

The shop was spread out, with enough room for several dozen tables, couches, and even a few game boards that had games like chess, checkers, and several cross species equivalents. Several containers of various tea blends were spread out on the walls. Most of the partons were asari, though there were a few humans here or there. A pleasant aroma filled the air and Kara immediately relaxed, if only just a bit.

_Got to stop and take a break every now and again. Thank the Goddess for places like this._

After ordering a pot of tea the two soldiers sat down at an empty table, set their weapons against a nearby wall but left them in arms reach, and leaned back in their lush chairs.

After a few moments Kara said in a calm and quiet voice, "This is amazing. Where did you find this place?"

Leslie smiled back, "My husband actually. He took me here once when we first started dating. Said he found it once when he and some friends were out drinking and they needed to get one particularly fucked up member of their group back to being somewhat coherent."

Kara was curious now, "Did it work? Some of our drinks can do that to humans, but others...you might have been better letting them sleep it off."

Blake responded, "I guess. Can't exactly remember, but Jeff said that the drinks he had here were better than any he had anywhere else. Of course, most of the marines from his unit kept coming for," Leslie looked around the room at all the asari present before looking back at Kara, "other reasons."

The asari smirked, "That's right, I keep forgetting your bondmate was a soldier."

Leslie corrected, "Marine. Humans don't have soldiers. We have sailors and marines, but no soldiers. He would always correct me on that."

Kara said in a mocking voice, "Well excuse me for not understanding _every _nit picky thing you humans seem to think is so important."

After a few more minutes of waiting an asari employee brought the two a pair of glasses and a large green tea pot and poured each a cup. After she was gone Kara picked up a cup while Leslie just waited and watched. After taking a sip the asari's face turned to one of sheer delight and she hummed as she drank as much of her cup as she could without spilling or burning her mouth. It was rich in flavor and was sweeter than any honey or surgery sweet she had ever tasted. It was addicting and she couldn't help but want more of it as she emptied her cup.

Leslie smiled and asked, "Like it?"

Kara set her cup down and replied in between deep breaths, "That's some of the sweetest tea I've ever had. If we survive this, we're definitely coming here more often."

Leslie chuckled as she watched Kara repeat her actions with another cup, "Yeah, usually I'm not much for tea, but this place was always one of my favorite spots after a long day grading papers or giving lectures to drugged out or sleep deprived teenagers." She added in an almost wistful vice a few moments later, "Those days seem so far away now though."

Kara asked as she set her now half empty cup down, "Did you ever think your life would end up where it did? In the organization we're in now?"

Leslie answered, "No, but despite everything, I really don't mind my lot in life. I've got a good job, my family is OK, and I honestly believe that what we do helps people in the galaxy. What else is there in life?"

Kara couldn't answer. All she knew was she had to take the small moments like these when she could. Tea with a friend. In the middle of a war that could end all life everywhere. Small things like this kept you going when everything around you was falling apart.

* * *

><p><strong><strong>2 hours later.<strong>**

Lt. Kara stood with her platoon, about 40 strong including her, in front of an entrance to the Citadel Tower. The tower loomed behind the contingent of soldiers, stretching into the nebula. Several frigates and The Destiny Ascension also patrolled the stars above, and Kara could make out several fighter squadrons circling overhead. The entrance was one that lead to a stairwell that in turn lead to several offices that many of the non-council races had offices and embassies. The Hanar, Volus, and Elcore had offices a few levels above where the entrance was. The Council species having their embassies near the top of the tower and the Council Chamber itself.

The Shadow Broker troops had set up several tables and chairs to sit down at in front of the doors, as well as several metal slabs to take cover behind in the event of an attack. Some were walking around, but most were just sitting and looking at the space in front of them. The area around them was clear for about 20 meters, before a shuttle pad on the left appeared and a residential area began on the right and directly in front of them.

The entire battalion was now in place at every entrance and exit to the tower, with extra security at the stairwells and shuttle landing zones. Kara had been informed by her troops when she had arrived that several drell, well armed and armored, had already gone inside and were securing the tower as they spoke.

Kara looked at one of her platoon leaders, a tall man with a shaved head and green eyes named Yi, and asked him, "Did they have clearance to go in?"

Yi nodded, "They all had credentials from the Turian Councilor saying to give them access, and it checked out. There wasn't any reason not to let the through. Do you think we should have held them?"

Kara thought about that for a minute. On the one hand, it was a bit odd for the Turian Councilor to give a group of Drell any kind of authorization to do anything. Then again, this was a war summit, he was the head of a major galactic civilization, and even if the Hanar and Drell weren't client states of the Turians, there wasn't any reason he _couldn't _give a group of drell assassins access to the tower.

_Makes sense that he would though. A group of assassins and wet work agents would be good defense against an attacking force of terrorists or zombies cyborg things._

Kara answered, "No, you did the right thing. Now lets just hope this summit is over soon. I hate guarding shit."

The human nodded and returned to his post, the asari following him. Just as Kara was sitting down on a metal slab her omni-tool began to chirp. When she saw who it was, the lieutenant excused herself and walked a few meters away so as not to be heard by her troops.

Kara answered in a cheerful voice, "Hey mom, how's work?"

Herja let out a long sigh before answering, "Can you _please _use proper protocol during a check in? Just because you're my daughter doesn't give you the right-"

Kara smirked and cut her off, "Jeez, sorry mom. Next time I'll just behave like dad: always serious and ready to kill on command."

Herja responded in a tired voice, "I would just like you to treat this like a serious mission. Is that too much to ask?"

Kara replied in a completely serious voice, "Mom, every time we were deployed to a combat zone, I was as serious as anyone in our company. Was I not?"

"You were, but-"

Kara went on, "And every time I was given an order, I followed it, right?"

Herja asked, "And just what does that matter now?"

Kara explained, "It matters because this is just about the most boring thing I've ever been a part of. Sure, it needs done. I'm not saying don't put us here, I'm just saying, when we both know it's just you and me, why can't we drop the act and act like family? Huh?"

Herja was quiet for a moment before answering, "Because we're soldiers, and my daughter or no, you still report to me after Capt. Blake. I still might have to get you killed to get a job done, and it's easier for me to lose a soldier then a daughter. So please, for my sake, just take this seriously."

Kara sighed and replied, "Fine, so what do you want?"

Herja asked, "Have you had any unusual activity in your location? Any people try to come through that don't have authorization?"

Kara answered, "We had some drell come through earlier, but they had credentials to get through. Why?"

Herja explained, "We've had several groups of humans, drell, and hanar get through many of our checkpoints. All had passes signed off by the Turian Councilor's office. Some of them had large crates with them. When we tried to inspect them they immediately turned around and left the area. You see anything like that?"

Kara didn't see the drell pass by but Yi didn't say anything about any crates, so she doubted the Drell had any, "No, nothing, but thanks for the heads up. And mom?"

"Yes?"

Kara asked in a voice that was almost a whisper, "You...wouldn't really get me killed just to win some battle. Right?"

Herja was quiet on the other end before replying, "Keep up the good work lieutenant." The line went dead.

_Well that's a nice way of avoiding the question._

Kara shook her head and went back to her unit. Just as she was about to relay the information her mother had sent her all their omni-tools lit up and a deep and artificial voice rang out from them, "All units converge on the Council Chamber. Drell and human forces have taken control of the Chamber and are holding the delegates hostage. Secure Council Chamber at all costs."

Kara shouted out, "You heard him people, get you shit and get going!"

The asari officer took her sniper rifle off her back and charged into the tower. Immediately after the double doors and stairs was a reception area and a hallway on the right that eventually lead to a series of elevators, and a blank wall on the left. A few asari secretaries watched in horror as the platoon charged in and immediately went down the hallway.

After a few seconds a dozen drell emerged from a few doors near the elevators and began to open fire on Kara's group. The officer threw up a biotic wall to cover her and her people and the Shadow Broker soldiers opened fire, killing three before the rest took cover. Kara dropped the wall, threw a barrier up, and lead a charge towards the enemies.

The asari stopped in front of one room and noticed two drell inside readying their weapons. She biotically grabbed one, crunched him into a tiny ball, then threw him into his companion's head, toppling him over. Kara warped his torso and then moved on to the next room.

Just as a human male moved in to clear the room next to the one Kara had cleared rifle fire ripped through him and several bullets peppered the wall behind him. As a human medic pulled the casualty out of the way Kara biotically charged into the room, filled with nothing but 3 drell, a table, some chairs, and a holographic projector, and moved past the defenders.

Kara and the drell turned around at the same time and opened fire. The hostile on Kara's left never got a shot off, the next fired a few rounds and deflated Kara's shields, but his head was reduced to a pile of goo soon after. The third only managed to knock Kara's barrier down before he was eliminated. When they were all dead Kara took a few deep breaths and put her left hand to her head.

_Goddess, my head's killing me already and there's no way of knowing what's next._

Shaking off her exhaustion the officer walked out and surveyed the situation. Two of her soldiers, both human males, were now dead, and four others were injured. After the wounded were stabilized the platoon entered the three elevators and readied themselves as they ascended towards the Council Chamber.

A few seconds after the elevator began to climb Kara's omni-tool began to ring. Looking down she gave a small smile and answered it, "Yes major?"

Herja gave a dry laugh, "Thanks for using proper protocol this time. Status?"

Kara reported, "Six down, including two dead. On our way to the Chamber now."

"Good. Regroup with the rest of your company and wait for the go ahead. Do Not go in until I say. Understand?"

Kara shook her head. _Great time to play the concerned parent. If we don't go in now, the whole Goddess damned Council might be killed or captured!_

The lieutenant just sighed and responded, "Understood."

The line went dead and the elevators stopped. The troops readied their weapons and when the doors opened they exited with weapons pointed in all directions, the asari and human biotics glowing.

They had come out to a large hallway several meters wide, with elevators on both sides. To Kara's right she could see more elevators and several shops and restaurants. On her left was the rest of her unit, about 120 in total, standing in front of a series of doors. Some of them had taken injuries, but all still seemed combat effective. Kara spotted Blake near the back of her company and walked over to her.

When they were close enough Kara asked quietly so the others couldn't hear, "Just what in the Abyss are we waiting for? We need to move. Now!"

Blake informed her, "Orders from the Doctor. She said to wait till she give the go ahead. Don't know what for."

When Kara sighed Leslie reassured her, "Look, we've got the Chamber surrounded, so there's no chance they'll escape. We blow this, all those people die. I don't like it either, but we wait for now. OK?"

Kara nodded and went over to her group and informed them of the situation. When that was done she went over to a door and paced back and forth waiting for the order to move. She knew they had to get this right. She knew that things would go horribly for the galaxy if anything went wrong in this. Still, every minute they waited was another minute the enemy had to dig in. When after a few minutes she noticed Blake give a signal for the company to stack up at the doors she went over to her platoon, took place right in front of the door, and watched as Blake walked in front of the Company.

Blake began to explain, "Alright people, here's the situation. According to The Doctor the Turian Councilor is Indoctrinated. Don't know how in the fuck that happened but I'm not in a position to ask." Leslie pointed to the doors behind her, "Those doors lead to the balconies overlooking the Chamber. Orders are to move in and provide cover while a grab is made for the Council and the delegates. Kill the Turian Councilor if you get a clean shot, but don't risk hitting anyone else. Questions?"

When none were asked Blake relayed into her omni-tool, "Doctor, this is Oscar Company, we are good to move on your orders."

Kara waited a few moments before Leslie's omni-tool lit up. The tall blond woman yelled out, "Alright people, now!"

The company charged forward through the doors and into a large open floor that had 'rooms' spread out and only divisible by a long metal slabs that had large holes in them. Each room had several desks, and there was a staircase immediately on the right leading to the floor above it. On the left Kara could see the Council Chamber, and directly across from it the other series of balconies the rest of her battalion would be securing. Leslie ordered Kara's platoon to secure this floor while she took the rest of the company up the next flight of stairs.

No sooner had the unit begun to advance then a squad of humans emerged from one of the rooms and began to fire at the Shadow Broker forces as they took cover behind a series of metal room dividers.

Kara ducked just in time as a shot from a rifle passed over her head and took cover behind a metal slab along with sergeant Yi and his squad, which consisted of six humans and three asari including the sergeant. The asari threw up a singularity and the hostiles were quickly picked off and the squad advanced, the rest of the platoon spreading out to secure the other rooms while Kara took Yi's squad along the edge of the floor.

As she passed the bodies of the enemy soldiers that had just been killed Kara spared them a glance. Their eyes seemed to glow bright blue, and seemed to have some kind of cyberware in them. All had skin that was far paler than would be considered healthy for a human, and some had a look of serenity on their faces that unnerved Kara more than anything she seen felt before.

_Indoctrination most likely. Almost feel sorry for them._

The asari officer looked out and onto the Chamber. In place of where the Council would normally stand and hear galactic issues was a large, round table, with the delegates currently being held hostage by several human and drell troops, many of whom had taken defensive positions to guard against a direct assault from the nearby elevator. The Turian Councilor was currently talking to his asari counterpart, and both seemed to be in a very animated discussion based on the Asari Councillor's wild arm movements.

Across the Chamber were several flashes of biotics and the sounds of rifle fire, with several human and drell troops running about and firing at hostiles that were beginning to take control of the floors of that section of the tower.

On the ground level Kara could see a group of human marines, a female in grey armor and a red stripe on one arm leading them. Among them was an asari in grey and blue armor Kara immediately recognised as The Doctor. There were others as well. A hooded figure whose identity couldn't be determined, a green drell, and a turian who Kara was certain was Garrus Vakarian.

The squad advanced into the Council Chamber as Shadow Broker forces from both sides across multiple balconies fired a the hostiles below, killing several and distracting the rest enough to make the advance of Shepard and her squad relatively easy.

As Kara and sergeant Yi's squad continued to press onward and eliminate the hostiles on their floor, Kara took cover behind a desk, looked out onto the Chamber floor, and watched in horror as the Turian Councilor slashed his talons across the neck of the Asari Councilor and then guards began to execute the other hostages.

Shepard's team, now less than 50 feet away, began to charge forward to try and rescue those they still could. As this was happening, Kara watched across the Chamber as a human female with a sniper rifle began to aim at the group advancing on the delegates. One shot rang out, and a marine next to Shepard was killed, followed by another that just missed The Doctor by centimeters.

The sniper continued to follow the group, nearly killing The Doctor and Shepard several times before Kara could act. The squad she was with was still in a firefight with the few remaining hostiles, and she didn't have a clean shot from where she was. She looked farther ahead and saw a corner with a clear view of the entire room.

Kara stood and ordered, "Cover me!" and immediately biotically charged past through six humans, knocking over two, and charged took up position on the edge of the floor, and fired several shots at the enemy sniper.

Just as the hostile fired her weapon plasma fire was all around her, causing her aim to be just off enough it missed the Doctor just as she and the rest of Shepard's team reached the area the were being held delegates.

The asari looked behind her and saw Yi's squad had finished off the last remaining hostiles on the floor and were targeting the enemies below. The asari went back up, airmed her sniper rifle at the enemy sniper, who was doing the exact same to her, and for a brief moment Kara could see her emotionless expression through her scope before they both fired.

Her shot went through Kara's shields and then through her left arm.

Kara's shot went through her enemy's head.

As she fell back she gripped her arm and cried out in pain. It felt as if a hot iron had been stabbed into her, and Kara once again cursed these uniforms. A medic was quick to inject her with medi-gel and put a bandage on her arm. After a minute or two the pain had receded and the asari officer could fully use her arm again.

Kara's omni-tool lit up and The Doctor's voice came through the speakers, "Secure the area. No one leaves. Also, someone send a few medics down here; we've got wounded."

Kara and her team went down onto the floor of the Council Chamber, the Shadow Broker officer noticing The Doctor giving her a long stare as she walked over and began to look over the scene.

Bodies were scattered about the room, many had been burned from plasma fire and the stench of charred flesh made Kara want to gag. The Council was wiped out, as were the delegates that arrived at the summit. Some of the human marines were just sitting at the steps leading up to the area the summit was to be held. They had a look of sheer hopelessness. As if things had already been decided and all was lost. Kara saw that Shepard, who had removed her helmet, was sitting down in front of the drell from earlier. The asari could only guess as to what they were saying.

Just as Kara was about to look over some of the injured marines a voice called out behind her, "You're Lt. S'Vipul, correct?"

Kara turned around and saw Liara T'Soni standing in front of her. The younger asari immediately stood up as straight as she could and answered, "Yes ma'am."

Liara nodded, "Good, I thought I recognized you. Could we have a few words in private?"

Kara nodded and the two went over to one corner of the room where no one would hear them.

Liara asked as she pointed to the level that Kara had just fought on, "You weren't by any chance the sniper from that floor there, were you?"

Kara smiled and nodded, "I actually was ma'am."

Liara looked grim and looked at her arm, "Did you suffer any other injuries saving my life?"

Kara looked shocked but Liara continued, "Yes, I saw what happened, and you have my thanks. Now, are you alright?"

Kara shrugged, "I'm fine ma'am. Thanks to the magic of medi-gel you won't even be able to tell I've been shot tomorrow."

Kara smirked. _Grampa will be so disappointed I won't have a scar. Still would have faded in a decade, but still._

Liara nodded but still looked grim, "I'm glad to hear that. Still, I'm...I've never been in this situation before; someone injured saving my life."

Kara waved her hand dismissively, "It's what I'm here for."

Liara continued, "Yes, but even still I'm...not sure about how I feel about it. Yes, you could look at it as part of your job, but you still saved my life today. That requires attention and reward. If there's anything I can do to help you, please let me know."

Kara was speechless. She saw Liara T'Soni as a hero. She'd gladly have died for her. And now she was having her heroine saw she was grateful to _her._

Kara just smiled and replied, "I will ma'am. Now if you'll excuse me, I think we both have some work we need to get back to."


	5. Aftermath: Citadel

The music in the club pounded her ears as Major Herja Pruor ascended the stairs in Purgatory and went straight for the bar. The Shadow Broker officer was dressed in a pair of black pants and a dark red shirt. The smell of sweat, alcohol, smoke, and what may have been various illicit chemicals flooded her nostrils and made her almost gag. The neon lighting made it difficult for her to see, and despite how graceful she could be in single combat, the asari had a difficult time keeping her balance as several people unintentionally brushed into her as she crossed the dancefloor that separated the stairs from the bar.

Eventually Herja managed to reach her destination, sat down, and ordered a full bottle of liquor.

_What a fucking mess._

It had been a full galactic day since the Council and the delegates at the war summit had been assassinated, and the galaxy was still in a state of shock. News agencies galaxy wide were abuzz on how dire the situation was, constantly asking whatever military spokesperson or government representative they could on how the war would be fought and who would lead it now. None of the calming words they said in the interviews had made the public feel any better.

The humans now had their military officially declare martial law, as no surviving human political leaders could be found. The turians, salarian, and asari had all managed to find replacements for their Councilors, but Herja honestly had little confidence in any of them.

_The last Council we had just sat back and let the galaxy fall apart. What's to stop this one from letting it get destroyed?_

The major just shook her head and took her third shot in as many minutes and tried to not think about it as another asari sat down on her left. The asari had cyan skin, cobalt eyes, and wore an all white outfit.

The other asari asked in a voice just loud enough to be heard as she pointed to the bottle Herja was using to pour herself another drink, "Is that all for you?"

Herja looked to the other asari and smiled and signaled for another glass, "Not at all ma'am."

Liara sighed as she poured herself a shot, "Please don't be so formal when we're drinking Herja. It takes a lot of the fun out of it." Liara took a shot and poured another before handing the bottle back.

Herja smirked, "Sorry. So what brings you here? Didn't think clubs were your style."

Liara answered after she downed her drink, "Getting reinforcements actually."

Herja passed her back the bottle after she refilled her glass, "Really? Who in here could actually have enough ships or soldiers to be worth visiting?"

Liara pointed out the window and down to a private table down near the entrance. Herja turned and saw an asari sitting on a long and luxurious couch, a series of drinks in front of her, and a human female sitting next to her in an Alliance military uniform. After a few seconds the identity of the asari came to her.

_No...that can't be her._

Herja looked over at Liara and asked, "Wait, Aria T'Loak? What's she doing here?"

Liara explained after she took another shot, "It seems Cerberus mounted a major invasion of Omega just as the Reapers started to attack our worlds. She is apparently using the Citadel as a base for her remaining forces until she can retake Omega."

Herja laughed bitterly after she took another drink, "So, she loses her territory and we want her to help us? Seems pretty stupid to me."

Liara sighed as she filled her glass yet again, "Perhaps, but she still commands a rather large fleet and many thousands of soldiers. Those can be useful and we don't have many other options right now."

Herja was thought about that for a minute. _Goddess, are things really so bad we have to go to a thug who considers herself a Queen?_

The soldier asked, "What options _do_ we have?"

Liara informed her, "Not many, as I said. The elcore and volus still are willing to help with the war effort, but their militaries will be of little help. The volus could loan money to the various governments, but that would leave the galaxy with so much debt that it's unlikely it would ever be paid off. The drell and hanar are...not the most popular species right now, as the few we captured alive after the summit don't seem to be indoctrinated."

Herja screamed, "What?! How could anyone not be indoctrinated and still be fighting for the Reapers? It's just...impossible."

Liara shook her head, "It seems that the hanar believe that because the Reapers destroyed the Protheans, their 'Enkindlers', that the Reapers are some sort of apocalyptic force sent from another realm meant to cleanse the galaxy or some such nonsense. In short Herja, I'm sorry to say that the drell and hanar will not be giving us any help in the war, and are not likely to receive any in return."

Herja didn't know what to think about that. On the one hand she didn't feel too sorry for the drell and hanar, and part of her honestly wanted them to pay for what they had done. Indoctrination was one thing. Willingly helping the enemy to bring about mass genocide...that's something else. Still, she couldn't bring herself to hate them.

Her father was a krogan, a species many hated for a past that, although bloody and not without misdeeds, was not entirely without honor, bravery, and sacrifice either. Valkyrie, Herja's friend, had a hanar father. Herja couldn't imagine what she was going through right now. She had tried to call home earlier, but everyone seemed to have the same idea after the coup and as a result few if any had been in contact with their families recently.

Herja sighed as she poured herself yet another drink and noticed that the bottle was almost empty as she set it down.

As she brought her drink to her lips she asked, "What about the other species? Where are our people in all this?"

Liara ordered another bottle and told her, "The Republics are pulling any support we may have had for coordinated military action and have begun to set up defenses in the major systems while evacuating the smaller settlements. The salarians are doing the same and setting up defenses mainly around Sur'Kesh. The Alliance is spread so thin as to be of no real use until they can regroup what remains of their fleet and form some kind of stable front against the Reapers. The turians have actually suggested a mission which Shepard I believe we could use your help with. What exactly do you know about the Genophage?"

Herja froze just as she was about to down yet another drink. Slowly, carefully, she set the glass down and looked over to her boss, "A lot actually. My dad's a krogan remember."

Liara nodded, "Yes, and that's why I believe you may be interested in what we have planned. Should I go on?"

Herja listened as Liara explained a certain...agreement that had been made between the turians and krogan. By the time they were done Herja was more then ready to volunteer her entire battalion for the operation The Doctor had planned. The survival of the galaxy counted on it. More importantly, the survival of her father's people counted on it.

* * *

><p>Kara sat at her desk and screamed into her extranet terminal, "Prima S'Vipul! She's in the Serrice Guard, a lieutenant I think, and I just want to send her a fucking message! Why can't I-"<p>

The pale skinned asari on the screen in front of her explained in a tired and annoyed voice, "Ma'am, we have no information on her, where she is, or even if she's still alive. You really have no other information on her?"

Kara yelled at the government worker, "That's what you're here for! Why can't you find her?"

She told Kara, "There are hundreds of soldiers in the Serrice Guard, and if we don't have the information released to us we have to rely on what the family members can give us. Besides, she might not be allowed to communicate with you anyway. If you can't give us any information on where she might be, as in what system, cluster, or even region of the galaxy, there's nothing we can do. Doesn't she have an extranet address you could massage her with?"

Kara sighed, "She hasn't answered any of my messages." The Shadow Broker officer asked in a quieter and more polite voice, "Can't you search to see where she might be? I need to see her, or at least reach her somehow."

The asari on the other end shook her head, "We don't have access to where our troops are deployed to, and if she doesn't answer her own correspondence, there's nothing I can do."

Kara frowned, angry at the situation, thanked the asari and turned off her monitor. As the screen went blank Kara put her head in her hands and sighed. She didn't really want to call Prima, but her mom had told her it would do her biological mother a galaxy of good to hear her voice. "I know you don't like her much, but believe me when I tell you she loves you Kara. She just...never got a chance to show it." her mom had told her.

Kara had then asked her mom in a disbelieving tone, "And just why are you defending her? _You're _my mom, not her. If she had actually done her job...I wouldn't even be where I am right now!"

Herja had looked at Kara with a solemn look, "I knew her growing up Kara. She was always so kind to me when I was young, and I know for a fact she very much wanted you. I know for a fact if she could go back she would do things differently. And I also know this Kara: you need to move past your own anger if you want to grow up. I understand being angry with her, but maybe if you two really got to know each other all this drama with you two could finally stop. Just think about it alright?"

And so Kara did in fact _try _to contact Prima, only for it to result in a complete failure. Kara stood, brought up her omni-tool and sent a message to her mom:

_Did my best to get in contact with her. No way to find her and she won't send me an email._

Just as the young lieutenant was about to change out of her fatigues she received a reply:

_Told The Doctor about it. She says she'll do her best to find her. Thanks for trying._

Kara wondered just how her mom had managed to relay the information so quickly but paid it no mind as she changed into a pair of blue jeans and a light green shirt and headed down the passageway of the ship, out onto the docking bay and then to the station to try to get the events of the previous day off of her mind.

The ship had docked on the Presidium, and so as soon as Kara had cleared through security she came to a strip that had a seemingly never ending line of shops, restaurants, the occasional combat arena, and one or two casinos. Crowds of all races moved to and fro about the area, some stopping in front of a store to look at merchandise, others checking scores of their favorite fighters outside an arena.

Kara walked through several groups of people and entered a building that had even more kiosks and venders inside selling everything from weapons and armor to childrens toys and clothes. The asari walked around the store passing one selection after another until she came to a kiosk that had several bits of jewelry on display. After taking a few glances at some odd looking headdresses her people wore she looked farther down the selection and saw Allen, who was dressed in a pair of dark blue pants and a black shirt.

Walking over to the shorter human she put her arm across his shoulders and asked in a cheery tone, "Hey dad, looking to get mom a bracelet?"

Allen sighed, put his right hand to his face, and reminded her, "Kara, for the love of God, I am not your dad!"

Kara smiled and gave him a half hug and looked down at the assortment of bracelets on front of them, "Nonsense, of course you're my dad. You're with my mom, right?"

The human removed himself from the asari's grip and said, "Yeah, but that doesn't make me your dad. What are you even doing here anyway?"

Kara shrugged as she examined the multi colored pieces of metal in front of her, "Just killing time really. Goin' over to Leslie's later for dinner and thought about maybe getting something to take over." She looked over to her dad and asked, "See anything you think mom would like?"

Allen shook his head, "Not really. You have any suggestions?"

Kara explained, "Mom's not really the kind of asari to waste time with the finer things in life like shiny rocks and precious metals. You would probably have better luck trying to make her an offer with a fancy pistol or something."

Allen asked defensively, "What makes you think I'm going to propose to her?"

Kara gave him a look, "Don't insult my intelligence dad. You're not just going to give mom a piece of jewelry as expansive as these here are unless it was pretty important. Hell, you almost never give her anything anyway, and I don't think you ever gave me a gift."

Allen retorted, "You're a grown woman and more than capable of getting your own stuff."

Kara smiled, "So's mom but that isn't stopping you. So, you gonna get me something too then, or does that come on my birthday? If so, I want a new Claymore shotgun with armor piercing rounds please."

Allen shook his head and went back to looking, "Fine, I admit it. Now would you please either help me or shut up and leave?"

Kara laughed a bit, "Now is that anyway to treat your only child?"

Allen, for once, didn't seem to get annoyed at that. After a few seconds he turned to face her and asked in a very serious voice, "Would um...you really be alright with me marrying your mom?"

Kara smiled and answered in a cheery voice, "Of course I would. I've always wanted a father."

That upset him a bit, "Damnit Kara, I'm being serious."

The asari replied in an equally serious and nearly monotone voice, "And so am I. Look," Kara sighed and relented just this once, "_Allen, _I mean it when I call you dad. I can see how you and mom are together, and I more then approve if that's what you want to hear. Mom needs someone in her life that'll be there for her, support her, and not walk out on her when things get bad. I think that's you. She's told me more than once how much you helped her when we were in Eclipse. She told me if it wasn't for you she wouldn't have come out of that army with her soul intact, if at all.

"You're a good man who loves my mom. I know you won't ever harm her, and you'll always be loyal and faithful to her. There's not a lot of people like you in the galaxy. Besides, I honestly _like _you, and despite how you act towards me, I know you like me too. We would work well as a family dad. All you need to do is make mom an offer, and I'm sure she would accept."

Allen seemed very thoughtful for a minute before he asked in a nervous and unsure voice, "You think so?"

Kara answered, "I can't imagine why she would say no. She loves you dad. I know you need a lot more than that to make things work, but things like bills, food, and all the other shit is pretty much handled right now. You just need to get your quad together and ask her already."

The human to relax a bit at her words, "Damn um...thanks Kara." He turned back to the selection, "Don't think she'll be impressed with anything here though?"

The asari shook her head, "Nah. Like I said, mom's not really into this crap. You honestly could just make her an offer and the two of you could just go shopping for bracelets after she accepts."

Allen, more to himself then her, said, "We don't know for sure she'll say yes."

Kara waved him off, "Whatever, so you gonna stay here or you want to come with me to Leslie's?"

Allen shook his head, "I'll stay back thanks. I'd be rude to just show up unannounced."

Kara nodded, said goodbye, and headed off to the nearest food market to pick up something her friend would appreciate.

* * *

><p>Leslie Blake heard the doorbell ring and got up from where she was sitting together on the couch with her son watching a child's show to go answer. She wore a pair of tan pants and an orange shirt. As the woman opened the door a smile burst on to her face when she saw who it was.<p>

Leslie welcomed the asari into her home, took the key lime pie Kara had brought, and told her, "Dinner won't be ready for a few minutes. Maybe you shouldn't show up so early next time."

Just as Kara was about to reply Leo, who was wearing a grey shirt and tan pants called out as he ran to the asari, "Kara! Kara!"

The asari smiled, "And miss this little guy? No way."

When Leo was about 15 feet away Kara biotically lifted him and pulled him over to her, the child laughing all the way. The two went over to the couch and resumed watching the show. Leslie smiled at the site as it had unfolded in front of her. Leo had taken quite the liking to Kara, and the asari mercenary doted on the boy whenever she came to visit.

Walking into the kitchen Leslie put the pie in one of her two refrigerators and checked once again on the dinner in the oven when she heard footsteps behind her.

Turning Leslie sighed and told her mom, "I don't want to talk about it alright?"

Marji shook her head, "Well too bad, because we Can't Stay Here. Now do you believe me? The Council dead, our army and fleet scattered, and you really want us to stay here?"

Leslie advanced on her mother until she was just inches from her face. She kept her voice low so her son and guest wouldn't hear, "We have nowhere to go! I told you that already. The colonies can't hold off a squad of pirates, let alone a fleet of giant robots mom. We have a whole fleet here orbiting us, and an army to boot."

Marji scoffed, "A fleet that's been torn to pieces once before and an army of idiots that can't even protect their own leaders."

Leslie walked away from that taking several deep breaths. Her mother didn't know that it was her unit that had failed to keep the Council alive and it would do her no good to reveal that information. She walked back out to the living room and saw Kara levitating her son, which Leo could just never seem to get enough of. The sounds of her son's voice laughing did little to distract Leslie from her mother's thoughts though.

As Marji came up behind her Leslie asked, "And just where do we go then mom? You say we need to leave, but where to? Give me a location, and if it's good enough, I'll think about it."

Marji pointed to the asari, "She's got family right? We could live with them till the war ends. Asari space is a lot more secure than this place, and-"

Blake cut her off, "No, we're not imposing ourselves on her family. They have their own issues and I'm not about to force her grandmother to take care of two more people when she already has enough to deal with."

Marji didn't relent, "We need to live through this. If we make things a bit inconvenient for her family I'm sorry, but I'm not letting my grandson die because of it."

The younger woman informed her, "Reaper ships have been ripping through asari space the last few days. Entire planets have been destroyed from orbit. Their fleet is just abandoning the colonies they can't evacuate in time. And you know what happens to those refugees? They get dumped on whatever planet their government can get them to the fastest. Massive slums have already started to pop up on a lot of asari worlds, and things there are getting worse by the day. Think the Wards were violent mom? Try having to look at asari children turn into pack animals and start eating each other. That's what's happening in asari space right now."

Marji was silent for a minute before asking, "And just how do you know all this?"

Leslie just frowned and said, "I'm in a very interesting position to know things. Let's just leave it at that. Like it or not mom, we're staying. It might not be safe here, but it's safer than anywhere else."

Leslie then went into the dining room and began to set the table. Dinner would be ready soon and she would be damned if she was going to waste what could be her last chance to have a meal with her family.

When the food was ready they all sat down, Leslie on one end of the table with her mom across from her. Ah Sam was on Leslie's right, with Leo and Kara on her left. Leslie and her mom ate in silence, though the others were entertained with Kara's biotic show consisting of juggling several rolls and salt and pepper shakers just out of reach of Leo. After a little while Leslie was able to calm down enough to truly enjoy this moment. She even saw her mother smile a bit at Kara's nearly spilling a pitcher of water while trying to biotically refill everyone's glasses.

When the meal was over and Leo was put to bed Leslie and Kara sat down on the couch while the others were cleaning up the kitchen. The vid-screen was playing some random movie neither of them were paying much attention to. Leslie kept thinking about what her mom had said earlier though, and she could see her mom did have a point. Nowhere was safe, and the Citadel was fortified, but it had been attacked before, and probably would be again.

The blond woman looked over to her friend, who looked like she was about to fall asleep, nudged her. When the asari looked over she asked what was wrong.

Leslie wanted to ask her if her family could stay with Kara's. She wanted to ask Kara if she knew if any of the refugee camps that the Broker had been setting up were for sure going to be safe. She wanted to ask so many things, but she just couldn't find the strength.

She knew the camps would have minimal, if any, protection. She knew what Prima was going through, and raising one teenager while worrying about the rest of her family was enough without worrying about a 3 year old and a bitter old woman to add to it.

So instead Leslie just smiled and said, "Thanks for coming over. Leo always loves it when you come visit."

Kara smiled, "Of course, I love that kid. You ever need someone other than Ah Sam to help out, just let me know."

Leslie smiled. _Maybe she wouldn't mind after all. _

The human woman pushed those thoughts aside though. Kara wouldn't be dealing with Leo and Marji, she would be fighting with Leslie. As much as she wished her mom was right about leaving, there were just no places they could go.

Accepting the situation for now the blond woman relaxed, took a deep breath, and enjoyed the moment of peace she had been given.

* * *

><p>Allen Ryan walked down the passageway of the ship towards his and Herja's quarters, deep in thought, with his head glued to the deck. He had thought about what Kara had told him earlier in the day and although it was encouraging that his potential step-daughter was fine with him, it was still something he wished he could have avoided, if only for a little while yet. Though Allen was certain she wouldn't tell her mom, Allen didn't really want Kara or anyone else for that matter knowing what his plans were.<p>

He had loved Herja for a while now, and this was the next logical step. Still, he knew they were both still very young, despite all they had been through, and honestly not too long ago doubted if they should make what they had permanent. Those doubts stopped the moment the invasion started. When he saw those images on the vid-screen, he knew it was time to act.

It was pretty common for someone in his situation to want to get married to the one they loved before going off to war, and though his lover was right next to him fighting in this, that just made it all the more important to do this now when they still had the chance.

_That's what she wants, right? Us to be really honest with each other and decide what we both really want?_

It was an odd thought for Allen. Usually it was Herja who was always talking about the future and how they would act as an official couple and how they would live afterward. Usually Allen tried not to think of the future and the reality that, unless something horrible happened to Herja, that she would outlive him by centuries. Still, the end of the galaxy tended to put things into perspective, and made him realise that maybe he should have been a bit more...active in how he wanted things to be with his girlfriend.

He doubted that he would make his proposal or 'offer' as asari called it tonight. He was going to have to at least try to make it somewhat romantic, or at least not spring it on Herja on some random night right before they were shipping out again to some distant battlefield. They both deserved better than that, and Allen was going to make sure to do this right.

Stopping in front of their room Allen took a breath and opened the door, only to sigh at what he saw, "Of course."

On the bed laying face down Herja was passed out laying diagonally. The last third of her body was off the bed and she was still in the same clothes she had put on earlier. What's worse, Allen could smell the alcohol on her, and he was just glad she had managed to get back here in one piece.

Shaking his head he went over to her and shook her a little, "Herja? Come on, get up."

The asari made a half-assed attempt to push him away and moaned out, "Go away...too loud…"

Allen turned her over, made her sit up, and asked in a quieter voice, "And just how much did you have this time?"

Herja put her head in her hands and whispered, "Doc and I shared a few bottles. Got a new assignment from her, then shared a few more."

Allen shook his head, "How you don't die of alcohol poisoning everytime we go out is beyond me."

Herja shrugged, "Must be the Krogan side of me."

The human smirked. Herja was always one to go a bit overboard when it came to their nights out. He honestly wasn't sure how he felt about it. On the one hand he always had to get a drunken Herja back home and it got repetitive after a while. On the other hand it was on one such night, after they both had gotten rather intoxicated, that Herja had suggested they 'have some fun' as she put it. They had both passed out before anything had happened, and Allen was thankful for that, but had it not been for that one drunken night they may never have seen each other as lovers.

Allen put his arms around her and tried to haul her up, "Come on, lets get you cleaned up. We're gonna need our rest for tomorrow I'm sure if The Doctor gave us a new mission."

Herja laughed as she staggered to the bathroom, "Always trying to get me into bed, aren't you?"

"Me?" Allen asked defensively. "I can barely keep up with you!"

After the pair had showered and brushed their teeth they got into bed, Herja falling asleep as soon as she laid down. As Allen looked her peaceful face he knew his decision was the right one. He only prayed she would say yes. At this point, Allen Ryan honestly couldn't imagine his life without Herja Pruor.

* * *

><p>Kara had just settled into some loose fitting clothes as she laid down on her bed. Overall, she had an excellent day. She had a good dinner with a friend, learned that her dad was finally ready to make an offer to her mom, and with the exception of not being able to get in contact with Prima, didn't have any low points. She was just about to fall asleep when the terminal began to ring and a green light began to flash on it.<p>

_Goddess damnit._

Slowly she got out of bed and sat down in front of the terminal. When she turned on the screen she immediately forgot how tired she was, "Mother?"

Prima S'Vipul, dressed in a grey asari military uniform with shiny insignias on her shoulders, smiled at her daughter, "Hello Kara."

The younger asari was unable to speak for a few seconds before finally managing to ask, "Mother...um...why are you calling?"

Prima laughed, "And I actually thought you wanted to talk to me."

Kara snapped, "I did! I...I do. It's just...you didn't answer my messages and…"

Prima explained, "Well, I can't say exactly what happened over an open channel, but earlier today my company was about to be deployed and at the last minute we were halted. Everyone of us was given an extra day to do as they pleased. When I saw you had tried to contact me I responded. Is now a bad time?"

Kara shook her head, "No, it's just...late my time and…"

Prima nodded, "I'll be quick then."

Kara reassured her, "No no, don't do that just...um…"

Prima commented, "You seem to have nothing to say, so tell me, why should I waste our time when you clearly don't want to talk to me?"

Kara was actually a bit hurt by that. Though it was true she had always resented her mother in the past, that didn't mean she didn't want to take this opportunity to talk to her now.

The younger asari stated, "I want to talk to you mother, it's just…" Kara sighed. "It's just I don't know what to say."

Her mother nodded, "I understand. Is there really anything on your mind though? Back home you were more interested in drinking then talking."

Kara was quiet for a bit before she asked a question she had always wondered, "Did you ever really want me?"

The moment she heard herself say it, Kara wished she could take it back. The look on Prima's face, the look of sheer horror, hurt, and probably a bit of anger, made Kara just want to turn the monitor off and pretend this had never happened.

She didn't though. For once in her life, Kara just sat and waited for whatever her mother had to say to her, and she resolved herself to accept it. Prima didn't yell though. She didn't cry. She didn't immediately rush to assure her daughter that she did in fact want her. She just sat there.

The older asari eventually asked in a tired voice, "Is this really the question you want to ask me? Of all the things we could talk about, why this?"

Kara just shook her head, "I don't know I just...need to know."

Prima sighed, "I'd...I'd rather not-"

Kara interrupted, "Mother, I'm 61 years old. I'm not some child who needs to believe they're the most precious thing in the universe; I'm an adult who can handle the truth. I'm sorry if that's what I said, but it is something that I've been wondering for a while now."

Prima couldn't stop the hurt from showing in her voice as she answered, "Of course I wanted you! You know we only have children if we choose to Kara. There's no 'losing yourself in the heat of the moment' or 'natural instincts kicking in' with us. Every asari that has ever been born was wanted, and you are no exception!"

Kara asked in a calm and quiet voice, "Then why were you never around?"

Prima looked as if she was about to cry. She breathed in and out a few times before telling Kara, "I...very much wanted you Kara. But I admit I may not have wanted you when I chose to have you."

The younger asari felt nothing in that moment. For another species, Kara assumed, this may not have been a big deal. For other life forms, having children was often unplanned and it was because of this that many born to single parents lived normal lives and had fine relationships with their parents.

For an asari though, to have a mother that didn't plan ahead enough to support her children was not an easy thing to live with if you were her daughter.

Prima told her daughter, "We asari are a species that live our lives according to a strict set of expectations Kara. When you are young, you wonder around the galaxy. When you are middle aged you have children. When you are old, you tell all those around you who are not your same age or older how they should live their lives. It doesn't matter if it's what you _want _ Kara, it's just something that you're going to do, ready or not.

"When Hildra and I left the army we were both just starting our Matron stage. In truth, Hildra has never conformed to what our people expected of her and had been wanting a family for centuries. She didn't bond with Jursk because her body told her to, she waited until she had left the army to do it because it was the most stable environment to have children.

"I tried Kara, I truly did, to find a bondmate. None that I found were worth living with, let alone raising you with. So, I decided to try to raise you alone. We all know how that ended."

Kara was taking all this in as best she could, but she still wanted to scream at her mother. She wanted to tell her she should have waited. She should have found a better job. She should have been more like Hildra, tell society to fuck off, and live her own life. She didn't though.

She was tired of yelling at Prima. Arguing with her wouldn't change all of what had happened, and would most likely just make things worse.

The younger asari nodded and asked in a calm voice, "Did you really love your job enough to not want to be home with me all those years?"

Prima explained, "I admit, I did love my job. You know I was one of the lost children with no friends or family growing up, so can you really blame me for trying to make their lives better?"

Kara looked down at her lap before looking back up answering, "Maybe not, but that doesn't mean you are innocent in all this."

Prima said, "I know. That was another failing on my part; making sure my priorities were in order. Still, we can't turn back time, so what does this matter to you Kara?"

Kara was silent for a few minutes while she thought this over. Eventually she answered, "It helps me know just who I am and why I'm here. I've honestly wondered that for a while now. I...I know that this couldn't have been easy. Thank you mother."

Prima nodded, "I won't say that I'm happy we had this talk, but it is good to not be fighting with you this time. Is...is there anything else you would like to talk about?"

Kara was about to answer no when she noticed something odd about her mother's uniform, "Are those captains insignias? I thought you were just a lieutenant."

Prima actually laughed a bit and smiled, "Yes actually. Someone saw fit to give me Hildra's old position and made me a company commander."

The younger asari asked her mother, "Any advice then? Because I wouldn't turn any down."

Prima smirked, "Oh _now _you want to listen to me?"

Kara laughed a bit, but it quickly died, "Yeah, I'm...I'm honestly scared mom. I've got no idea how I'm supposed to lead dozens of people into battle. I've already lost two people. I...I didn't even know them, and I had to send messages back to their families about how they were these great and brave people when I don't even know for sure they were. How am I supposed to do this?"

Prima gave her daughter a look of understanding as she told her, "I can't tell you how to accept loss Kara. I can't tell you how to be a leader. I can't tell you how to overcome your fears and doubts. What I can tell you is this: if you believe in your own abilities, do what must be done when the time comes, and never let fear cloud your mind, then you will succeed. I have faith in you Kara. I may never have wanted you to be a soldier, but I know for a fact that you will be a better one then I was or ever will be."

Kara, for the first time in as far back as she could remember, gave her mother an honest and loving smile, "You...really mean that?"

Prima laughed, "I'm your mother, of course I believe it. Any daughter of mine or Herja's is bound to be an excellent warrior."

Kara frowned at the mentioning of her mom.

Prima noticed this and reassured her, "Yes Kara, I know who your real mother is, and I'm honestly sorry to say it's not me. Never the less, I'm truly hopeful that when this war is over we can finally get to be something like mother and daughter."

Kara nodded, "Don't worry mother, when all this is over, you and I are going to set aside _a lot _of time and really get to know each other."

Kara actually meant those words. When she was in Eclipse her mother had told her she would like to see her when she came home from her missions. Kara had entertained the thoughts, mostly for civility sake, but not this time. This time, when she finally had the chance, she would really forge a relationship with the asari that had given her life.

When this war was over, she and Prima would truly be family.


	6. Tuchanka I: Opening Moves

**A/N: **The Commanding Officer of a ship/boat holds the title of Captain, no matter what their actual rank is. How Bioware could mess that up for three straight games is simply beyond me, especially after a Quarian _Correctly addresses Shepard as a captain in ME2! _Hugh, game designers.

* * *

><p><strong>Tuchankan Orbit, Optimal Outcomes Cruiser <strong>_**Delaney. **_

Major Herja Pruor walked into the briefing room with her head held high and a stern, emotionless expression on her face. She was determined that the next series of missions went off without a hitch. She would personally make sure that any failure on anyones part would be met with severe punishment, and nothing short of victory would come out of the next few battles.

_Dad, if you could just be here with us now._

The room was a large auditorium, with seats arranged in neat rows and enough space to fit over 500 soldiers or sailors. About 300 of those seats were filled with the soldiers already outfitted in their Ghost Suits, helmet on their laps or on the tables in front of them. All their eyes were glued to their commander as she walked up to a podium, pushed a few buttons, and a holographic display of the planet below appeared in the empty space to Herja's left.

Herja took a few seconds to collect her thoughts before she announced in a loud and clear voice, "This is going to be a long day people, so we had best get started."

The Major pushed a few more buttons and three green dots appeared on the planet. Two were in relatively close proximity, and one was nearly on the far side of the planet.

Herja announced, "The turians and the krogan have come to an agreement: in exchange for curing the Genophage, the krogan will enter the war and begin offensive operations against the Reapers. In order to do this, our superiors have seen fit to have us aid Captain Shepard and her team in clearing out Reaper and Cerberus forces from the planet."

Pushing another button to highlight a dot that was fairly far away from the other two Herja explained, "Before we can bring in any allied ships to help in the battle, we first need to make the space surrounding the planet safe for any ships not equipped with camouflage technology. You see Cerberus has somehow managed to get an ancient space defense station online. Reports say it has the firepower to take out any significant ship in orbit. I'll take Lima Team to secure the cannon. Once it's offline, the rest of you will begin your assignments."

Herja looked over to her right toward where Allen was sitting, "Captain Ryan."

He sat up a bit straighter, "Ma'am?"

"Take Victor Company to these coordinates." Herja pushed another button, and now a different dot was blinking, "According to The Doctor, a turian shuttle carrying a full platoon of troops has crashed landed there. No word yet on why they crashed, or even why they're here. As soon as my mission is complete, Shepard and her team will also be en route to recover any survivors. Assist Captain Shepard in any way possible and extract as many survivors as you can."

Herja turned to her left, "Captain Blake."

The blond woman looked at Herja, "Yes ma'am?"

Herja made the final dot start to flash and explained, "Cerberus forces have been spotted in the Kelphic Valley. You are to take Oscar Company to recon the area and find out just what exactly is going on. Do not, I repeat, do not engage unless you are first attacked. We need to know what's going on down there before we do something stupid. Questions?"

Not one question was asked or a hand raised. Herja smiled. Today she was going to play a part in the ending of one of the greatest crimes ever inflicted on a species. Herja may not have been krogan herself, but she loved her father dearly, and she had always felt a strong connection to the krogan people. Her only regret in all this was her father was not here to see her do this.

"Alright. Let's get to work."

* * *

><p>The shuttle bay of the ship was a hub of activity. Soldiers in full armor carrying weapons boarding shuttles, pilots preparing said transports to take the troops planetside. Herja was with Lima Team checking over their equipment one last time before they headed out. Normally Herja wouldn't have been so paranoid about how things might play out, but she was leaving nothing to chance for this mission. After they were absolutely sure everything was working correctly the team, with the exception of the asari major, boarded the shuttle and awaited orders to deploy.<p>

Herja moved about the hangar, rifle on her back and helmet under her left arm, looking for a few specific soldiers. When she found her targets, she smiled and walked over to them.

Ryan, Blake, and Kara were all talking, helmets off and weapons on their backs, and smiled as soon as Herja came to join them.

Kara soon asked in a tone that suggested she was disappointed in her assignment, "So is this really just going to be a recon mission mom? Because the last time we just sat around very bad shit happened."

Herja was slightly annoyed and more than a little frightened by her daughter's attitude and snapped, "Lt. S'Vipul, you _will _follow your orders, you _will not _engage the enemy under any circumstances, and at the first sign of trouble you are to get your ass out of there! Do you understand me?"

Kara seemed a bit disappointed by the news but nodded anyway, "Yeah: Don't fight, don't get shot, and bug out at the first sign of trouble or danger. That about it mom?"

Herja smiled, "Good girl. Now go get your people organized and make sure their shit's good to go."

Kara nodded, gave the others a smile and a nod, and headed off to find her platoon.

Herja then turned to Blake, "Leslie, listen, I'm counting on you to make sure she comes out of this alright. I understand why she did what she did on the Citadel, and though I can't say she was wrong in saving The Doctor's life, I need you to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid down there. Can you handle that?"

Leslie smiled, "Don't worry, I'll watch her as if she was my own kid. I promise she won't even have a scratch on her when she comes back. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I have a unit of my own to organize."

As the blond woman walked away Allen asked, "Do you really think Leslie will be able to keep Kara in line?"

Herja laughed, "Huh, no. Still, I trust her to keep Kara safe a lot more than you. I seem to recall a certain raid on a Blood Pack base-"

Allen said in an exhausted tone, "That was One time, and we were ambushed! How many times do I-"

Herja put her hand on his shoulder, "I was kidding Allen. I just think Leslie will be a better commander for my daughter then you. It's nothing personal. Besides, the two seem to work very well together."

Allen nodded, "Well, at least you have a point there. Anyway, I need to get to work too. You just be careful down there, OK?"

Herja nodded and pulled Allen close to her. The two shared a brief kiss before Allen left to organize his own company.

Alone now, Herja took a deep breath. _It's time. Let's send those dogs into the Abyss!_

The asari major walked across the hangar, entered the shuttle sitting down next to Carna, and gave the order for them to deploy. As she felt the shuttle take off she looked at her team. All seemed focused and ready to fight. Their helmets were all on, weapons held out in front of them pointed up, and some were muttering a few silent prayers.

Herja closed her eyes and sent a prayer of her own to the Goddess as she felt the shuttle move into the upper atmosphere of the planet.

After a few minutes the shuttle was approaching the old space defense station Cerberus had captured. The installation was surrounded by several craters, some deeper and more recent than others. The landing pad the shuttle was headed towards was about 100 yards away from the main control center, with several large containers scattered the landing zone and the tower.

Power generators were in an elevated chamber adjacent to the landing zone. About 200 or so yards in front of the base were a series of a dozen canons that were nearly 100 meters long and had somehow been repaired despite over 1000 years of not being used.

As the shuttle gradually came to a halt, the soldiers in it stood and headed to the doors. After the soldiers silently fast roped down from the sides the shuttle departed, and Herja and her troops took cover behind some of the asari officer looked out from behind the crate, a squad stacked up behind her, and surveyed the area.

Ahead, after the series of crates had ended, was a ramp on the left that lead to the control center. To the asari's right was a wall about 3 meters high with a serie of cables running out of it and leading to a series of stone consoles roughly in the center of the cargo area surrounded by metal slabs, leading Herja to assume that was where the power generators were.

Herja would have used that room to flank any potential hostiles that were waiting for her and her troops, but there was no ladder, series of stairs, or ramp that she could see. She had to advance directly toward the control center, and she didn't like that. There were no enemies that were in her immediate view, however there were many places that could be concealing the defenders just as easily as Herja and her people.

Reminding herself that there was no other way, she gave the signal for her team to move forward, the major in the center of the group. As the platoon advanced they soon began to see two ramps on the right, about 5 and 20 yards away.

As Herja and about half the team moved toward them to try and spread out a burst of machine gun fire ripped out just a few meters ahead of Herja, cutting down an asari and human male. While this was happening several Cerberus troops popped out of cover and began to fire at the Shadow Broker forces, killing a human female and wounding two male soldiers.

Herja cried out as she took cover right beside the edge of the first ramp, "Ambush! Get to cover!"

The squads spread out amongst the crates and began to return fire as they moved the wounded out of the way of enemy fire and treated them as best they could. Grenades from Mitchell's squad sent three enemy riflemen into the air in a mix of blood and armor while Herja biotically blasted a Centurian that tried to advance down the ramp with a fire team in tow.

The asari major sent up a singularity, trapping the four hostiles, including one engineer and three standard infantry, and blasted them with her plasma rifle. Herja then spotted the turret that had ambushed her troops and saw it was currently distracted pinning down another squad.

Herja yelled over to Mitchell, whose squad was the closest, "First squad on me!"

The human moved with his team over to take cover to Herja's left and she explained, "We're going to flank them. On my mark Diaz and Salvator grenade the turret, then the rest of us charge. Carna, you and me will put up a shield while the rest advance. Everyone clear?"

They all nodded and Herja yelled out, "Now!"

The grenades from the humans sent pieces of shrapnel flying in all directions while a biotic wall from the asari prevented fire from the squad of hostiles that was atop the ramp from inflicting any further casualties. The team advanced quickly up the ramp, dispatching their enemies quickly, and came to a large clearing with the control center to their left and the power generators to their right, with several stone and metal slabs around the entrance to each.

Just as the asari brought their barriers down and were about to charge to the control room a burst of enemy fire came from behind them, hitting Herja and another human female in the back.

The asari stumbled to the ground and put her hand on her back. When it came back clean she turned around and biotically blasted the head off an enemy submachine gunner. Regaining her strength, the asari threw up another barrier, shouldered her weapon, and charged into the mass of hostiles in front of her, knocking four to the ground on her way to the entrance to the generator room.

She grabbed the rifle of one enemy, ripped it from his arms, and smashed his helmet in with it. Dropping the now dented piece of metal she turned around and roundhouse kicked a Cerberus Centurion into a nearby stone slab. When another grabbed her leg she twisted her body into the air and smashed his helmet in with her other foot.

An instant later a tall and extremely large soldier came up behind her and put his arms around Herja's neck and wrestled her to the ground, the asari on her back and the human facing the stone floor. Herja managed to kick them both over so they were facing the sky, broke free from his grip, and then charged and tackled her opponent and put him in a chokehold of her own after removing his helmet, revealing a bald middle aged man.

The Cerberus soldier's airway was quickly crushed by the asari, and his body soon fell to the ground lifeless. Herja watched the life leave his eyes, and for a moment, felt sorry for the man. In a few seconds such thoughts left her however, and she stood and looked around the room for any more hostiles with her rifle drawn.

Turning around she saw an engineer had almost set up another turret near the doorway. Warping the turret just in time and killing the hostile in the process, the asari grabbed the shattered metal remains of the turret and sent them racing into another batch of hostiles, shredding through their armor. Moving into the generator room she saw three enemies with submachine guns attacking demolition charges to what appeared to be fuse boxes of some sort.

The asari quickly aimed her rifle and fired three well placed shots at their heads. When they were all dead she searched the rest of the building and found nothing. After she finished her search Herja went back outside to take stock of the situation.

The human who had been hit, a woman Herja recognized as being named Burke, seemed to not be harmed and Herja sent a silent thank you to whomever designed their suits.

_Good to finally have armor that actually works._

The squad had taken up defensive positions behind a series of metal slabs and had pushed back a series of attacks from the enemy, the last of whom were just being finished off as the major came up from behind them. Herja could see multiple hostiles in the control center, as well as a squad taking cover in front of the building behind several stone slabs.

Herja ordered, "Move forward people, we gotta take that building. Ramirez, Salvator, you two stay back and keep us covered. Brown, Kim, Burke, take the left. The rest of you with me on the right. Now move!"

The two human males provided suppressive fire on the hostiles that were in the command center as well as those near the ramp that lead to the tower, pinning them down. The remainder of the squad advanced, taking an opportunity to eliminate enemy troops when they tried to get out of cover. When they reached the halfway point they threw a series of grenades, disintegrating the few hostiles left alive.

The major and her team, now taking cover by the corners of the ramp closest to the enemy command post, began to fire at the enemy positions they had just flanked, killing several and drawing the fire of the rest. The remainder of the platoon quickly advanced and killed the last remaining Cerberus troops on the lower level, some of the the Shadow Broker troops using hand to hand techniques. Herja turned, signaled for the two males to regroup with their squad, and charged up the ramp on the right to take to enemy's last position.

Inside the tower were several enemy Centurions and a few engineers who were trying to set up turrets. After a quick burst of rifle fire most were eliminated, and biotic blasts to the head killed the rest.

Herja entered the room and looked at what they had captured. There were several stone structures that seemed to have keyboards built into them. Many showed the displays of the space around the planet, the canons themselves, as well as diagnostics and the status of each one.

On a separate display on another series of stone workstations were different schematics however. Herja looked at the images and immediately didn't like what she saw.

Turning back to her team she ordered, "Alright everyone, good job but we still have a lot of work ahead of us here. Carna, check to see how many people we lost. Diaz, get on these terminals and see what you can find. The rest of you secure the area, make sure we didn't miss a single one of those fucks."

Walking out onto the little balcony overlooking the cannons and the landscape Herja spoke into the comm-unit in her helmet, "Major Pruor to The Doctor, come in Doctor."

Herja heard a voice on the radio, "The Doctor hears you Herja. How did things go?"

The major answered, "Space defense station taken, though we encountered moderate resistance. You can bring in reinforcements to the system any time you like. We um...may have more intel to send to you later."

Liara asked, "Just what kind of intel exactly?"

Herja sighed and told her boss, "Not sure yet ma'am, but I think it has something to do with a certain piece of ancient technology of unknown origin."

Liara replied, "Understood. Krogan forces are inbound now to take over the station and guard it against any Cerberus or Reaper counter attacks. Gather whatever you can and leave before they arrive."

Herja was confused, "Why? Shouldn't we wait until they get here?"

Liara explained, "If you have found samples of, or intelligence about, what I believe you were referring to, I believe it would be best not to risk the krogan seeing you with that kind of technology, or worse having them want information about or samples of their own. Don't you agree?"

Herja sighed and felt a bit ashamed to admit she agreed with The Doctor. Even if she loved her father's people, she could not deny that a great many of them would use any technology they found to destroy other clans as soon as they would use it to fight Reaper forces.

The major answered, "Affirmative. We'll be outbound as soon as possible."

"Copy that. Liara out."

Herja walked back into the tower and asked the human female manning the station, "Find anything useful?"

Diaz nodded, "Yeah, and you probably won't like it. Come here."

Herja walked over to where she could see the display where Diaz had brought up several reports and video of several experiments Cerberus had done over the past several weeks.

The hispanic woman said as she pointed to one monitor in particular, "Watch this video."

On the screen was a view of the Tuchankan desert, with nothing seeming out of the ordinary. In an instant a blinding flash of light engulfed the screen, followed by a mushroom cloud larger than any Herja had seen a video of before.

The human woman explained, "From the report this video was attached to, it seems that Cerberus was using the surrounding area to conduct tests on some of this 'grey-tech' that we recovered from that base back on Sanctum. That was a recording of an explosion that had a 50 megaton yield. Ma'am, that's equivalent to the most powerful early human nuclear weapon yield back in the 20th century. What's worse is that that explosion was from just _three _pieces of grey-tech. Three!"

The asari's skin turned a lighter shade of blue and she asked, "Are there any more pieces here?"

Diaz pulled up another report and shook her head, "No, it says here that two days after the test I just showed you all samples were removed from the planet and scattered to separate bases and outposts."

Herja let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, "Thank the Goddess. What else does it say?"

Diaz skimmed a few more reports and said, "According to these notes, the power of the explosion exponentially rises the more grey-tech components are added to it. Apparently they stopped testing here because they were too concerned about literally destroying the planet.

"It also seems that Cerberus still wants finding these bits of technology to be their top priority, with the intention seemingly to create some sort of weapon."

Herja wondered out loud, "And just why would you create a weapon that you were too scared to test?"

Diaz shook her head, "I don't know, but this is really starting to make me scared here major."

Herja told her, "You and me both. Download all the data you can and send it to The Doctor when we get back to the ship. And be sure to destroy everything here not needed to control those cannons."

Diaz nodded, "Got it."

The major went outside again and looked out at the vast desert wasteland that was Tuchanka. The sun shown brightly in the midday sky, clouds drifted overhead, and there was even a calm breeze that helped to cool the asari in the heat of the harsh sun. Though she knew it was a harsh and deadly place, Herja couldn't help but admire it's beauty.

_Just think, this could have been my home just as easily as Sanves if dad had his say. _

Herja wished, yet again, that her father could have been a part of this mission. That he could see his daughter here, helping to cure the Genophage and give the krogan a chance to begin again. She knew he would be proud of her when she told him, but she just also wished he could just tell her that now and share in this glory.

After a few minutes Carna walked up behind Herja and leaned against the metal railing alongside her CO.

The smaller asari spoke, "This is quite the view, huh boss?"

Herja smiled, "This planet was my dad's home. Until his clan was destroyed that is." Herja chuckled and told her subordinate, "He would always say when I was old enough he would take me here, tell me about the conquests of the Ragnok Clan, and show me the battlefields where they fought to the last against a dozen rival clans. But we never got the chance.

"My mom, violent as she could be at times, would never allow me to go to a war zone like this planet no matter how much dad and I pleaded. Then, when I finally _was _old enough my sister was born, and of course we now have to wait for her to be old enough too just so dad can honestly say he was fair to both of us."

Her smile faded, "Now I'm here, and my dad's off on some faraway planet I've probably never heard of and may never come back. I was really hoping that my first time on this planet would be on that trip. Now...me and my family might never get that chance."

Carna was quiet for a moment before she said with a smile on her face, "I'm sure you'll both get through this OK boss. Then you and your whole family can come back here and get yourselves killed in the good old fashioned krogan tradition of getting eaten by giant acid spitting worms."

Herja actually honestly laughed at that, "You always have the most morbid things to say, don't you?"

Carna shrugged, "It's a gift."

Herja sighed, "So, how bad was it?"

Carna reported, "Four dead, another five wounded. The shuttle's about four minutes out and the rest of the team's already at the landing pad."

Herja nodded, "Then that's four more people gone. Four soldiers who were with us against Pirates, Geth, Collectors, and now Cerberus. How many more are going to die before all this is over?"

Carna shook her head, "Don't know boss. All I know is when your time is up, your time is up. There's a round waiting for us all somewhere, and we just have to hope that when our time comes that it means something."

Herja nodded and the two asari went over to the landing pad to wait for extraction. As they arrived and the shuttle came into view Herja resolved that, if she was destined to die in battle, she would do her family proud.

She would go out in a blaze of biotic glory that would impress the Goddess Athame herself with it's destructive beauty.

_That's really the only way a warrior should die. That, or quietly in bed surrounded by family. Either one's fine with me._

The team loaded their dead and wounded onto the shuttle, took off, and ascended into the heavens just as the first krogan reached and began to secure the station.


	7. Tuchanka II: Amongst the Ruins

****Tuchankan Orbit. Optimal Outcomes Cruiser ******_**Delaney **_******hangar bay.****

Capt. Allen Ryan watched Herja's shuttle leave the hangar bay and sighed. _And now I play the waiting game._

The rest of the battalion would need to wait until Lima Team had completed their mission before they could begin their own assignments. Although the individual shuttles had advanced shielding against all known kinds of sensors, the _Delaney _only had been recently retrofitted with heat absorption technology, meaning it could be discovered with nothing more powerful than a telescope from the plant's surface.

The shuttles couldn't stop themselves from being detected during atmospheric reentry due to the disturbances they would cause in the atmosphere. And although they would not be able to be seen, a well trained observer would still scan the space immediately around where they seemed to be launching from, leading to any enemies on the ground to detect the Cruiser and leave the battalion stranded on Tuchanka with no idea when a rescue would come.

Allen knew it wouldn't take long for Herja and the others to complete their mission, but he never was a man who liked waiting around when there was work to be done. He turned around and looked over at his company, which numbered about 120 in total after the incident at the Citadel.

They were all milling around near the four shuttles that would take them to the surface, helmets on and weapons on their backs. Some were sitting against the transports, while others were walking around or talking to each other. The captain signaled for his platoon leaders to walk over to him and met him about 30 meters from where the rest of the unit was.

Whenever Allen stood in front of soldiers under his command he was always a bit nervous, and these people made him feel a bit intimidated. He was maybe 21, while all of them were at least in their late 20's or early 30's. He had fairly limited experience, while the four in front of him now had been mercenaries or Alliance marines for years before joining the Shadow Broker's army. All of them were also a few inches taller then the captain, which didn't help matters either.

Allen took a quick breath and informed them, "Alright people, as Major Pruor said, we're on a rescue mission. Don't know how many survivors there may be, if any. Once we hit the ground we can probably expect heavy resistance. Any last minute questions?"

Tucker, a muscular man with dark skin and an accent Allen couldn't quite place but sounded European asked, "Exactly where is this crash site located?"

The captain informed them, "It seems they crashed landed right in the middle of some kind of ancient krogan city. Lots of ruins there, so keep a look out for ambushes."

Scott, a tall man with light colored skin and a mustache asked, "In what capacity will we be assisting Shepard?"

Allen didn't know how the first human Spectre would want them to operate so he just said, "Don't know yet. When we begin to deploy I'll ask. Anything else?"

Johanson, a tall blond woman of a fairly slim build shook her head. Kline, a man with pale skin and a red beard did the same. Allen looked at all their faces and didn't quite like what he saw.

_They don't like me much. Can't say I blame them seeing as I don't know what the fuck I'm doing half the time. What was Herja thinking putting me in charge of a whole fucking company?_

Questioning Herja and himself wouldn't do him any good though, and he knew it. All he could do was issue orders that he hoped wouldn't get too many people killed and maybe give The Doctor a few victories before someone wised up and gave the job to someone else.

An alarm sounded indicating that the battalion was to mobilize and they all dispersed to lead their platoons, Allen heading with Scott and his group, which was the company's first platoon. As soon as they were all seated the doors and ramps closed, the shuttles lifted off, and both companies headed down to the planet. Just as they began to enter the atmosphere Allen received a message in his omni-tool:

_Just thought you would like to know I'm still alive. Good luck, and remember: you don't have to do it all yourself, let the others make a few suggestions or decisions. _

The human smiled at Herja's words, both at hearing she was alright (although he never really doubted she would be) and her advice. Even if he didn't always know what to do, he could always ask another's opinion. Not always practical when a snap decision had to be made, but still sound advice.

As the shuttles began to clear the atmosphere Allen heard a voice in his comm-unit, "Captain Ryan, are you receiving? This is The Doctor."

Allen immediately forgot about his insecurities, lack of experience, and even his concern for those he cared about as he responded, "Affirmative Doctor. What are your orders?"

Liara told him, "I'm diverting you and your company to land on the opposite end of the crash site from where Shepard and I will be deploying. If you can, try to divert as much of the enemy presence as possible while our team tries to reach the crash site."

Allen nodded, "Understood. Any more information on...anything, really Doctor?"

Liara sighed, "I'm afraid not Captain. For once the Broker has not been able to uncover any details about this mission."

"Understood. Out."

Allen looked over at Scott, who was sitting across from him in the shuttle, and shook his head, "Sorry, no new information."

Scott had a frown on his face but still gave a nod of understanding. After a few more seconds the shuttles came to a halt and Allen could feel it as they landed on the surface. When the ramp at the end of the shuttle opened Allen and Scott were the first two out, quickly kneeling as soon as they exited and covered the rest of the platoon as they formed a perimeter around the landing zone.

The spot which they had been dropped off at was the edge of what appeared to be a ruined krogan city. Multiple step pyramids could be seen in the immediate area, though the heavy presence of fog and dust clouded anything more than a few hundred meters away, and the fact that it was now night meant the only light was the fires burning in the ruins, which Allen was sure was the remains of the turian's ship.

_Good thing we have night vision in these helmets._

As soon as the shuttles took off Allen looked at the mass of collapsed stone structures in front of him and wondered how best to proceed. There were several piles of rubble making entrance by what may once have been the main road in and out of the now ruined city impossible, but that rubble also gave them a way up and into the upper levels of the structures and would in turn give them the advantage over whatever hostiles they found inside.

Allen ordered, "Victor Company, spread out by platoon and advance into the ruins. Keep your eyes open for any hostiles, but don't engage unless you're sure you can eliminate the enemy."

The company climbed piles of rubble and advanced into the ruined krogan city. The walkways were filled with debris from decay and war, the occasional stone that had fallen from the level or walkway above, and many ways to move deeper into the city were simply cut off. The company eventually cleared the worst of it and began to more easily traverse to structures. Allen noticed that there were several levels to the complex, and many ladders and stairways to travel between them. It was almost like the ruin was some kind of large single building, like a shopping mall or a museum.

Leading his platoon down an alley that eventually lead to a bridge above a walkway Scott froze, took a knee, as did the rest of his unit, and reported in his comm-unit, "Contact."

Allen went up to sit beside him and looked at the level below them and saw dozen mutated blobs that had once been batarians running down the walkway beneath them toward the direction of the crash site. The captain looked around and saw no other hostiles on his level or the ones above. Looking over to Scott, Allen nodded, and the lieutenant returned his gesture.

Scott gave a signal and two snipers, one asari the other a human male, came forward and both fired a series of shots at the hostiles, who were about 50 meters away by now. When three of their number went down, the remaining Reaper troops turned around and began to open fire, only to be quickly cut down by the platoon.

Allen asked his troops, "Any other contacts?"

When the other platoons responded back that they hadn't seen any others Allen ordered to his troops, "If you encounter any hostiles, try to keep them occupied and maybe get them to bring in reinforcements."

Kline asked on a line that only allowed Ryan to overhear, "So you want us to get the whole Reaper force to attack us then?"

Ryan cringed and responded, "Actually yeah, I do. The Doctor want us to distract as many as possible while Shepard and her team extract the turians."

The lieutenant replied in a rather harsh tone, "That would have been nice to know before sir."

Allen could have reprimanded that, but he accepted it as a valid complaint and signaled the platoon he was with to continue on. As they advanced further into the ruins they came across a turian escape pod that carched. Equipment and weapons were scattered about the room, mostly in pieces. It's occupants thrown from the craft and landing several feet away in a tangle of limbs and broken bones. One of them lay with his back against the wall and seemed to be just barely breathing as he had a metal coil sticking out through his chest.

A human medic rushed to his side and attempted to assess his injuries as Ryan sat down next to him and asked, "What happened here? Just what are you guys doing on Tuchanka?"

The turian spoke in a pain filled voice as he coughed up a bit of blood, "Can't tell some random merc why we're here. Sorry. Guess it doesn't matter if I tell you what happened."

The turian coughed up a bit of blood and explained, "Our platoon commander saw a large number of hostiles on our pre-planned route, so he chose a different path. Unfortunately, that same plan had us going through these ruins, and we got ambushed anyway. Not a bad plan, but I just wish it could have ended better."

Allen looked at the medic, "Is it safe to move him?"

The human medic shook his head and Allen sighed softly.

The turian laughed a bit, "Humans, always so emotional over a few losses. Look, I'm guessing you have a more important mission then finding out about a single missing turian platoon, right?"

Allen nodded and the soldier continued in a weak voice that was barely above a whisper, "Then get out there and do it." With that, the turian succumed to his wounds.

Allen stood, nodded, and lead the platoon down another walkway filled with rubble.

Eventually the platoon came to an area where the roof of the structure seemed to have collapsed leaving an area about 50 meters wide and 300 or so meters long with multiple levels and rooms having an entire wall or much of the floor simply removed. In the center of this was another downed turian escape pod, with several batarian cannibals eating what remained of the unfortunate occupants of the pod.

Allen and Scott sat next to each other and surveyed the situation. After a few minutes the captain asked, "Any ideas? Going straight in seems a bit dangerous."

Scott looked over to the right and pointed, "I'm thinking two squads head right while the rest of us move forward. When we're in position we'll get them in a crossfire with no way to maneuver. Sound good to you sir?"

Allen nodded and the platoon split up, Scott and the captain taking two squads and carefully advancing while the other two moved through the building and took cover behind a series of pillars on the enemy's flank. When Allen and the half of the platoon he had with him were about 40 meters away from what remained of the pod and safely behind cover he sent a single word through his radio: _Now._

In an instant a storm of plasma fire was unleashed on the Reaper forces, most being cut down in a matter of seconds. Some managed to return a few rounds or tried to charge at their attackers, but they didn't last long. Just as the Shadow Broker troops were about to advance however, a dark form appeared in the sky.

Allen noted it had a form not unlike that of a dragon: a large and impressive wingspan, large body with a long neck and large head and four legs the size of sky cars. It even seemed to be breathing fire as it approached their position.

_Wait. Fire?_

Allen screamed out, "Heads down!" as a blue burst of energy surged towards his position. The shock sent some soldiers back several yards, causing three of them to cry out in the pain of having a few bones broken.

The dragon like creature landed not far from where the crashed pod was and unloaded another few squads of hostiles, several marauders among them. In the distance Allen could see figures moving toward his position and soon recognised them as husks. Looking around his position the captain could see dozens more rushing at him from all directions.

Looking towards the two squads that had flanked the enemy he could see some of the zombie like enemies had already attacked them, the Shadow Broker troops being forced to engage them in hand to hand combat.

As enemy fire flew around him like a swarm of angry insects Allen calloud out into his comm-unit, "This is Ryan, we are pinned down and in need of immediate assistance. Repeat, immediate assistance. Is anyone out there!"

Allen heard in his helmet as he took out several of the husks that were getting dangerously close to his position, "This is Johanson, we're on our way sir, just hang on!"

Allen was about to acknowledge when a husk grabbed him from behind and attempted to bit his throat out. The human captain elbowed the creature in the abdomen, pulled it over his shoulder, and stomped it's skull in until there was nothing left except circuits and dusts. After regaining his senses he grabbed the rifle that he had dropped, took cover next to Scott and resumed firing until he saw the sights of rockets coming from the right flank.

Turning, Allen saw several squads of soldiers in the higher levels of the ruins had suddenly appeared and had begun to fire on the enemy. Rockets, grenades, biotics, and rifle fire ripped into the enemy, killing most of the infantry and even forcing the dragon like creature to try and escape.

Allen ordered, "Don't let that thing get away! Bring it down, whatever it takes!"

Every soldier not engaged in a hand to hand duel with a husk fired everything they had at the flying creature. Just as it seemed it might escape a series of biotic blasts caused the creature to vaporize in mid air, much to the excitement of the soldiers below.

With their air support gone, the remaining Reaper forces quickly fell back, many being picked off as they retreated. After taking a few minutes to catch his breath Allen ordered the two platoons to regroup around the crashed pod.

When they had all assembled Allen was given a report on their current situation. Five soldiers had been killed, another three had broken limbs of one kind or another and would have to stay behind and await extraction. Some of the troops had also received minor injuries, but could still fight. Allen took all this into account as he looked at his omni-tool display of the battlefield.

The rally point he had set for the company wasn't far, and fortunately the crash site wasn't too much farther than that. Unfortunately, a company sized force was awaiting his troops in the chamber he had told them to regroup at.

_Well, doc did say she wanted us to do the heavy fighting on this one._

After leaving a few of the slightly wounded soldiers behind to guard the dead and more seriously injured while they awaited an evac, the rest of the contingent, about 50 strong, advanced through the the ruins eventually coming to an antechamber just beyond which was the room the rest of the company was to meet them in.

The room was barely large enough for them all to fit in, and the rubble had created several separate tunnel like passageways that lead to the rally point. On the opposite end of these tunnels were guards, usually a husk. Beyond them was a large room of some several hundred square meters, which had several large pieces of collapsed stone which the Shadow Broker troops could use as cover against the Reaper troops that occupied the opposite end of the room.

Allen and six others each activated their cloaking devices and advanced slowly down the tunnel towards their respective target. The plan was as soon as the guards were all killed they would take cover and lay down fire to cover the rest of the contingent as they entered the room.

Ryan advanced slowly and carefully, trying his hardest not to breathe too loudly or accidentally kick a rock and give away his position or let his fear cause him to do something stupid.

_How assassins manage to do this stuff so easily is beyond me. _

Allen eventually came to within a meter and a half of the husk. From this distance the captain could see all the circuitry and decaying flesh that made up his enemy, and Allen felt sorry for whoever this abomination used to be. When he saw in his HUD that the others had reached the same position he had he put all fear out of his mind again.

Whispering into his helmet Allen counted down, "Three...two...one...now."

In a matter of seconds all the Shadow Broker forces activated their omni-blades, despatched the guard in front of them, and charged at the nearest fallen stone. The Reaper forces opened fire on them as soon as they cleared the tunnels, and one salarian was killed just before he was able to take cover with the other five troops.

Grenades and biotics from the soldiers managed to take out several dozen charging husks while rifle fire from the reinforcing squads managed to kill several more. While the platoons that had arrived with Allen kept the Reaper forces busy the remainder of the company attacked them from behind using the entrances to the chamber that were on the far side from where Allen and the other two platoons had entered.

In a hail of biotics, grenades, and plasma fire the Reaper troops that had been defending the chamber were reduced to piles of charred flesh. When the room was cleared Allen called his platoon leaders over to one corner of the room to plan out what their plan of attack would be.

Pulling up his omni-tool Allen showed his officers a map of the ruins and pointed to one room, "Alright people, here's where we are, and here's where the turians seemed to have holed up in."

The area Allen was showing them was a crater surrounded on three sides by piled of rubble and on one the remains of a stone building.

The captain continued, "Unfortunately, according to the _Delaney's _sensors and data from the shuttles, there's another one of those dragon looking things and a whole other company of reaper troops between them and us. Thoughts?"

The area between the Shadow Broker troops and the crater was fairly wide open, with a series of ruins on the right flank of the Reaper troops a few meters high in some places, only about half a meter in others. Just sending a few heavy units to try to ambush the dragon like hostile would leave them exposed to enemy fire, assuming they could even escape notice from the enemy on their way through the ruins at all.

Eventually it was decided that the majority of the company would distract the Reaper troops from the relative safety of the ruined building while a squad of heavy troops flanked the enemy and took out their air power.

Advancing through the rubble and spreading out amongst several of the highest floors of the structure, Victor Company took cover behind the stone slabs, windows, and holes in the wall of the krogan building while a squad of eight troops armed with waited as the ground level waiting for the order to attack.

Allen looked out across the field and saw the enemy dragon like thing just standing there, still as a statue while a hundred or more cannibals and marauders milled about. Beyond it was a hill of debris and rubble that on the other side of Allen could hear gunfire and see the flashes of grenades exploding. The human officer hoped that when this was over there would still be survivors left to extract.

When all his officers reported that their troops were in position the captain lined up a shot on a cannibal, fired, and watched as his target collapsed on the ground, his company following suit and dozens of hositles were killed in the ambush. As soon as that happened, the entire remaining Reaper force seemed to spring to life. All the hostiles immediately opened fire on the Shadow Broker forces, with firepower concentrated on some spots being so great that it was quickly reducing the stone to dust.

The dragon creature lifted off and began to blast entire sections of the building with volley after volley of blue energy.

As Allen braced himself behind a pillar and did his best to withstand the shock from one such blast of raw energy he screamed into his helmet, "Now!"

The squad of heavy weapons carrying troops ran roughly 20 yards and took cover behind the stone ruins, the Reaper forces sufficiently distracted. In the space of a few seconds they unloaded a full volley of rockets at their target, taking out both of it's wings and causing it to crash on a dozen cannibals that were headed for the troops that had taken it down.

Finishing off the last of the enemy infantry was fairly quick, and as soon as the field in front of them was cleared out Victor Company spread out along the base of the hill as best they could and charged up the hill, the snipers staying behind to provide cover.

It was not so much a straight charge as it was a series of difficult climbs followed by a series of brief firefights. The hostiles at the crest of the hill wouldn't divert all their attention away from the turians they had trapped, but at the same time attempted to stop the Broker forces as they advanced. The result was that, after several minutes of brief and nearly pointless skirmishing, all the Reaper forces atop the hill were dead, the Broker forces losing only three of their own.

As he took up position at the crest of the hill and overlooked the site where the turians had holed up, Allen was relieved to see that things were not nearly as bad as the captain had thought.

The turian survivors, numbering about 20, had manage to take cover behind a semi circle of stone slabs and seemed to be holding out fairly well against the Reaper troops, as there were only a few wounded turian soldiers that Allen could see.

Also in the crater was yet another one of those dragon things, along with a few dozen Reaper troops. On the opposite side of the chamber, just emerging from the ruins, was non other that Captain Shepard, Savior of the Citadel herself fully clad in her N7 armor. Behind her was The Doctor in a suit of silver and blue armor, and behind her was a small group of Alliance marines.

As the first human Spectre concentrated on the enemy infantry Allen ordered his soldiers to take out the enemy air power. After being hit with a few dozen rockets and biotic blasts the monster fell, leaving only a few scattered hostiles that Shepard managed to kill easily enough.

After the last of the hostiles were taken out Allen and the rest of his company went into the crater to help with any wounded, the human captain walking over to The Doctor, who was also walking in the direction of her soldiers as they descended into the crater.

When the two were about two meters from each other Allen put his rifle over his shoulder and nodded to his superior, "Ma'am."

Liara smiled and nodded, "Captain Ryan, good to see you are well. Would you mind if we had a word in private?"

Allen shook his head, "Of course not."

As the two walked past the turian and Shadow Broker troops however, Allen couldn't help but feel this was about to get very bad.

After they had entered the ruins and were out of the view of the others Liara immediately gave out a long and exhausted breath, took a seat on a stone slab directly across from where Allen was standing and seemed to shrink a few inches as she put her head in her hands.

After a few seconds she looked up and said in a tired and perhaps somewhat disappointed voice, "I thought I had told you to try and distract them."

Allen took off his helmet, leaned up against a wall, and replied, "We tried to ma'am. We took out two of those dragon things and what must have been a couple companies worth of targets. Besides, we didn't really find many spots where we could lure them in. Hell, me and a whole platoon almost got wiped drawing a lot of them to us."

Liara nodded in understanding, "You suffered losses then?"

Allen clarified, "Nothing too bad. We're still perfectly combat effective. Truth be told, I'm amazed that we didn't lose more and that this many turians survived. We didn't encounter any survivors."

Liara told him, "We did actually. It was tough, but we managed to buy them enough time to regroup with the rest of the survivors."

After a few minutes of silence Liara asked, "How are you Allen?"

Ryan just stood there for a few seconds, not really sure what to do before he asked, "What? I mean...um, could you say that again ma'am?"

Liara asked in a kind and sincere voice, ""How are you? This wasn't an easy mission for either of us, and I want to know how you are. Is that hard to believe Allen?"

The human answered, "Honestly, yes it is. You don't expect someone who's willing to send you to your death to actually care about you."

Liara told him, "Well I actually do care captain. You may not think so, but it really does 'weigh heavily on my conscience' as you humans might say to send people I know to what may well be their deaths, especially people who actually look at myself or Shepard as some kind of hero. So yes, I care about you, and Leslie, and Kara, and Herja very much. So, how are you exactly?"

Allen was stunned by what he had heard. He knew that Liara knew about all four of them; what their situation was at home, where they were from, who they were, etc. He knew the others really did look at Liara as some kind of other worldly hero while Allen just looked at her and saw a good person who had done incredible things. What he didn't know, until now of course, was that underneath the cold viner of an agent for the Shadow Broker was an actual person who cared for those who fought for her.

It really made Allen appreciate working for her just that much more.

The captain sighed and answered, "I'm alright I suppose. To be honest, I really can't complain."

Liara pressed, "Are you sure? Is there anything you need, or something that I can get you? Or any of the others for that matter?"

Allen just shook his head and Liara seemed to accept his answer, "Alright then, but if you or any of the others need anything, you know you can just ask, right?"

Allen nodded.

As Liara stood up and looked like she was about to say something Shepard came in the room with her helmet still on in a full sprint.

She paid Allen no mind as she addressed The Doctor, "Liara, we've got a major shitstorm brewing. Get all your people ready to move _now! _This whole mission just got a lot more complicated."

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><p><strong>AN: **I hope everyone has had a Merry Christmas and will have a Happy New Years. The next update may be a while. Tuchanka has proved more difficult to write than I first thought. Thanks for reading, and please review!


	8. Tuchanka III: Secrets of the Past

****A/N: ****Um...hi. I won't go into the long list of excuses I have as to why this is so late. Just know that I am very sorry I didn't get this out sooner. Also, remember this is sort of an AU and as such my interpretation of Tuchanka and the Krogan is going to be different from that of many other people. Also, the wiki kinda sucks sometimes with the details on planets and exact histories.

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><p><strong><strong>Tuchankan atmosphere. <strong>******1750 local time.****

Captain Leslie Blake sat in the transport and looked across the aisle to Kara, who was just sitting and smiling happily, as if this was going to be just a walk in the park. In fact, judging by the look on the asari's face, Leslie was inclined to believe that Kara was downright _excited _to be going on this mission.

_I don't know what's worse: having someone so excited they lose track of what's going on around them, or someone so bored they just stop caring._

The human woman commented, "You seem pretty happy about going on some 'boring recon mission'. Any reason why the change of heart from an hour ago?"

Kara answered, "Yeah. An hour ago I didn't realize just where we were headed."

Blake asked, "And just how is that making any difference with you?"

The asari responded with her own question, "You really don't know anything about the Kelphic valley, do you?"

Leslie just sighed, "And you wonder why Allen never takes you seriously and Herja is always worrying about you."

Kara told her, "Look, at the first sign of trouble we're just supposed to leave, so why bother worrying when we won't be doing any fighting? Second, I've always wanted to come here. My whole family has Leslie, so I'm sorry if I seem eager, but this is kinda a big deal to me."

Leslie had a puzzled look on her face, "And just why is that?"

The asari smiled, "I'll show you when we get there."

The shuttle slowly descended and Leslie felt it touch down on the planet's surface. The troops quickly disembarked and formed a perimeter around the landing zone as the shuttles took off. As soon as she was sure there were no hostiles about to ambush them Leslie looked around and analyzed the terrain around her and was shocked by what she saw.

It was just about sunset on this region of the planet, light from the star still coming over the horizon, the outlines of the pyramids that were all around the company contrasting with the orange sky to the west. A few stars were beginning to show, though whether they were satellites from the CDEM or actual stars Leslie couldn't say. What surprised the tall blond woman the most wasn't the sky though, it was what was on the ground.

As the human looked around she saw several plants that were nearly as tall as she was, and many that were the size of trees. On the ground itself was a thick layer of what seemed to be Tuchanka's equivalent of grass. On the pyramids weeds and vines were engulfing the krogan architecture. It all reminded Leslie of the ancient Mayan ruins of Central America.

_OK, I'm in the middle of a jungle on an alien planet that's normally a radioactive dessert with a friend who's acting like she's a child and we're going to the fucking candy store. Can this get any weirder?_

Turning to her left to face Kara, Leslie saw that it could.

The asari had shouldered her sniper rifle, removed her helmet, and seemed to be trying to _smell _the air. What's worse, she didn't even seem to be paying attention to what was going on around her.

Leslie walked over to Kara and asked her in a hushed but reprimanding tone, "And just what in fuck are you doing?! This is a serious and dangerous mission here, not some vacation!"

Kara didn't seem bothered by her friend's words. She just shrugged, and asked as she put her helmet back on, "Why can't you humans ever just take a few minutes to enjoy life? I mean, look at this place Leslie: It's a Goddess damned miracle right here, and I think we should take the time to appreciate it."

Leslie scowled as she looked at the map on her omni-tool, "If you weren't my friend I'd kick your as right now."

The area they had landed in was about 3 kilometers southwest from the location they had been ordered to investigate. They would have normally been dropped closer, but due to the ruins and foliage there were no closer landing zones and although the could have fast roped down into the jungle they of course had no way of knowing what was down there.

The area between the company, which was about 140 troops in total after losing 20 soldiers on the Citadel, and the landing zone was mostly jungle, with a few step pyramids scattered about. The target area was a few square kilometers of fairly flat terrain that seemed to have been just recently deforested according to the reports given to them by what remained of the CDEM.

Closing her omni-tool Leslie ordered, "Alright people, We're about 3 klicks from the target. Yi, you take first platoon and head through the ruins. Second platoon goes on the left flank and head around them. Third and fourth go through the jungle. Remember, do _not _give away your position and get the hell out of dodge the first sign of any real danger. Questions?"

Kara raised her hand and had a somewhat annoyed look on her face, "What about me? You just took my whole platoon away!"

The tall bond woman pointed at the asari and told her, "You're staying with me. Anyone else?"

No other questions were asked and the troops set off towards their target.

When they were all gone Kara looked extremely angry as she asked in a much shorter tone, "Any reason why one of my squad leaders is now leading my troops?"

Leslie started walking towards the pyramid with Kara in tow as she answered, "Yeah. Orders. Your mom asked me to keep an eye on you, and given the way you've been acting so far I'm not sure I can trust you not to get yourself killed."

Kara stopped just in front of the pyramid, Leslie having already climbed a few steps ahead of her, and protested, "There is Nothing here! We have a pretty good distance between us and where we're headed and-"

The human came down and walked right up to Kara, "And we're on Tuchanka! You know? The most dangerous planet in the galaxy, even without the Reaper invasion going on, and you think _now _would be a good time to stop and smell the roses?"

Kara had a perplexed look on her face and asked in a curious voice, "What's a rose?"

Leslie nearly lost it and had to take a few steps back to avoid hitting her friend. After taking a few minutes to recompose herself Leslie stated, "And thank you for just now proving my point." Kara was about to say something before Leslie cut her off, "And before you ask again, a rose is a type of flower back on Earth."

The asari nodded in understanding, "Oh, so _that's _what it is. Yeah, actually I do think stopping to smell a few of the flowers would be a good idea right now. Might not get another chance. Watch out for the white ones though; they're toxic."

Leslie shook her head as they headed up the stairs towards the ruins, "And just how the hell do you know that?"

Kara smiled, "My grandad's a krogan, remember? He taught me and mom a lot about this planet. We were actually gonna all come here as a family sometime when me, mom, and Rota were all old enough."

They were about halfway up the stairs when Leslie asked, "Old enough? You seem old enough now. Why not sooner?"

Kara sighed, "Prima. My grandma is pretty protective of us and insisted that we all be fully grown adults before going on any trips here and that she would of course go with us. Rota's not going to be physically a full adult for four more years, and I honestly doubt Prima would let her go then due to all her antics. You think I'm immature Leslie? Remind me to have you spend a weekend with my aunt sometime. I'm a goddess damned messenger of Athame compared to her."

Leslie commented as they were about three fourths of the way up, "Yeah well, that's probably just due to her age. I mean, she's just a teenager by your standards." After thinking on that for a moment the human asked, "Isn't it odd to you that you're actually _older _than your aunt?"

Kara shrugged, "It is what it is, as so many of you humans say. To me it seems perfectly normal to be honest. Still, I just know when we get back home and tell her where we've been today she's going to beg my grandma to let her come here. Prima will refuse of course, and then we'll have to get a new set of furniture after the resulting argument. Again."

Leslie asked as they reached the top, "Your family loses a lot of furniture?"

Kara explained, "When you have a krogan, three young and violent asari, and one middle aged asari who can be the most violent of them all with biotics capable of killing a Matriarch, you spend a lot of money replacing shit."

Leslie nodded as the pair turned around and took one last look at the jungle behind them, the last few rays of light just touching the tops of the trees. It all seemed so...peaceful. Beautiful even. Leslie really wished she could share in her friend's fantasies of stopping and enjoying the view, but alas, she couldn't. She still had work to do. Maybe when the war was over, and assuming they had all survived, then they could come back and enjoy the view.

_Yeah, it's always after isn't it? Never now. Never today. Always tomorrow or the day after. Well what if there _is no _tomorrow? What then? Are we supposed to just keep promising ourselves rewards we know we'll never get just to get through the day? _

Putting such thoughts out of her head Leslie took a deep breath and asked, "So this is why you were so excited to come then? Seeing the last jungle on Tuchanka?"

Kara smiled and nodded, "Yeah, and what we're about to see in these ruins, if Jursk was right about them anyway."

Leslie was curious now, "And just what are we gonna see?"

Kara smirked and lead her friend into the pyramid, "That would be telling, wouldn't it?"

Leslie shook her head and followed the asari into the structure. The first chamber was fairly spacious, with several pillars on either side supporting the ceiling. Through holes in the walls and ceiling Leslie could see glimpses of the sky and the plants outside. It was incredibly dark though, and those inside had to turn on their night vision in their helmets to see straight.

Taking her plasma rifle off her back Leslie radioed to her officers, "All platoons report in."

"Sergeant Yi reporting, about halfway to target. No contacts."

"Lt. Abraham here, no contacts. Halfway to target."

"T'Sanzia here. Three quarters of the way through the target. No contacts, though there is some interesting wildlife here."

"Lt. Chordata here. No contacts. Three quarters to target area."

As the human captain acknowledged them and pressed on ahead she saw Kara standing by a wall that seemed to have a mural painted on it. The asari had a smile on her face and still had her sniper rifle on her back.

She questioned, "See? Nothing to worry about right now. Now do you think you could spare a few minutes of your time?"

Leslie walked up to her and asked in a somewhat tired voice, "And just why would I do that?"

Kara pointed to the mural, "Because I think it's time I told you why it is I'm so excited to finally come here."

Blake looked over at the wall, but couldn't immediately make out the shapes. Taking off her helmet and turning on the flashlight on her rifle, the human shown her flashlight on the pictures and she couldn't really decipher what she was looking at.

It seemed to be showing krogan riding...some kind of animal. Most likely hunting other types of creatures that were also shown just next to the reptiles. Also in the picture was what appeared to be some kind of giant worm, a Thresher Maw if Leslie wasn't mistaken.

Turning to the asari she asked, "And just what the hell am I looking at?"

The asari took off her own helmet, most likely so she could see the mural better Leslie guessed, and told her friend, "This is a picture showing the krogan as they used to be about 100,000 years ago. This was back when they were still nomadic hunters, or so Jursk told me."

Leslie was very perplexed at this, "Wait, the krogan used to be nomads?"

Kara nodded, "Yeah. You see, while a lot of the planet used to be covered in junges, a lot of it was flat plains that had a lot of game. Before all the wars anyway."

Leslie told Kara, "I'm not really familiar with krogan history. Do you mind clueing me in?"

Kara smiled and nodded, "Of course. If you think we have the time that is."

Leslie said as she continued, "Well, orders are not to engage anyway, and as long as we keep moving and you don't do something stupid and get yourself killed, I don't think anyone will mind too much."

Kara sighed as she and Leslie put their helmets back on, "Why does everyone think _I'm _the one who's going to die?"

Leslie answered, "Because you act the youngest. Now, are you going to give me that history lesson or not?"

Kara began to explain, "Krogan history, like that of your own people, is a long and bloody struggle Leslie. Tens of thousands of years ago, the krogan people were the prey of the apex predators of the planet. Food, though not scarce, was a struggle to hunt and kill. Many children were eaten by predators, injured by other children so badly they couldn't defend themselves, or orphaned when their parents were killed.

"Mates were sought after and rare, and just because a male fancied a female, that didn't mean anything. If a female didn't like a male, then she would beat him to death with whatever she could find. It was a violent time Leslie, one that they have never forgotten."

The asari pointed to more images on the wall to their left and explained the pictures, "Eventually the inhabitants of this world learned how to make tools. How to build proper shelter from stone and metal. How to make weapons powerful enough to ward off predators. After that, life began to improve...for a while. After life became easier for them the krogan began to seek challenges as life became too boring for them; too _easy_ for them."

Leslie looked at pictures of krogan with what appeared to be some kind of musket shooting at each other and listened to Kara as she explained, "Krogan thrive on challenge and chaos Leslie. They see conflict on the personal and cultural level as needed for growth and development. If you never burn your hand, how can you ever learn what the word 'hot' means? If you are never beaten and learn pain, how can you ever learn why you should avoid getting hit? If you never learn the painful way, then how will you ever retain the knowledge?"

The pair came to a different section showing krogan constructing pyramids like the one they were in now, "Although the krogan are as violent as a species can be, they didn't always try to destroy each other. Often in their history they had many centuries of peace and prosperity. Science and medicine reached new heights, and the krogan saw many golden ages in their time."

Kara lead them to a series of pictures that showed what appeared to be mushroom clouds over a now ruined city and spoke with a heavy voice, "But it wasn't going to last. Life was made far too easy for the krogan you see. They needed to be challenged. They needed to grow. They needed and wanted the wars that followed. 12 times civilization built itself up, and 12 times was it destroyed. Each time worse than the last. The last time was the one that nearly ended them; most of the population was wiped out, and after the bombs fell, a great darkness spread across the planet lasting many years. Eventually the salarians came. You know the rest."

Stopping, Kara faced Leslie, "This is a place I've always wanted to come to Leslie, and if I seem like I don't care, it's only because I'm trying to enjoy this moment while I can. This mission is one that I actually am taking _very _seriously. It might just give the krogan a chance to begin again. To start over, and maybe make something for themselves in the galaxy."

Leslie sighed and shook her head, "Did you not listen to yourself just now? All the krogan have ever done is fight endless wars with themselves. They wrecked their own planet, and then decided it would be a good idea for them to conquer the galaxy. If this cure works, then what Kara?"

The asari did her best to hide her anger at her friends words as she explained, "First off, the krogan never tried to 'conquer the galaxy' Leslie, they just wanted more worlds to live on-"

The human countered, "After they overpopulated the hundred or so planets they were given after the Rachni War."

Kara balled her hand into a fist and said, "Need I remind you of the tens of billions of krogan who died in that war? Do I have to spell it out for you how they are about as much my people as the asari are? Do you know how much I love my grandfather-"

Leslie cut her off, "And I won't deny any of those things, but they are dangerous, violent, and know only war Kara. I don't hate them. I don't want them to die out, I don't have anything against them, but I'm not sure that this is such a good idea curing them and allowing them to breed out of control."

The asari kept flexing her hand, forming it into a fist and releasing it. Eventually she countered, "You know how many times mom, me, or Rota was hit when we were children by Jursk Leslie? None. You know how many times he told us how much he cared about us? I can't even count that high, but I heard it every day. Yes Leslie, krogan can and do express their love for other beings in ways other than violence. Sure, it may be done in private, but that doesn't take anything away from it. They raise their children a lot better than a lot of species do.

"You know how many times Hildra was hurt by her bondmate due to him losing his temper? Not once! They love and care for their mates Leslie. How many other species can honestly say that? Every krogan is violent yes, but only to _their own kind _or to those who they happen to be fighting on the opposite side of a war on. To everyone else? As long as they don't see you as a threat, then they will leave you alone. Hell, sometimes they won't even do anything to you then."

Kara pointed at the human, "Take you for instance. You're still fertile, right?"

Leslie nodded and Kara continued, "Then unless me or any other member of my family was in danger of you hurting us, Jursk wouldn't ever do anything to harm you, even if you threatened his life. Why? Because you can have children. You can continue to teach others to be their own master and lord over no one. To treat all those who are strong, wise, and good people in their own right with respect. To live their lives according to their own will. That is what it means to be krogan, not mindless violence to separate the weak from the strong."

Kara looked Leslie in the eye and told her, "Besides, who are you that don't know your own history? Need I remind you of all the wars humans have fought?"

Leslie argued, "We didn't plunge our own planet into nuclear winter Kara!"

The asari countered, "You almost did. And even if you didn't, how many wars has your species fought against itself? How many of your civilizations have been destroyed? I've read a lot of those books you and dad read, and it seems to me that your people are damn near insane. One group of people have a different God than we do, so of course they have to die. Those people over there have a different kind of government than we do, so of course they have to die. Look, those people across the river look like they might be a threat. Let's not try to reason with them, lets go kill them and make the survivors slaves.

"War is as natural to your kind as it is to the krogan, so don't ever use that as an excuse for why you don't want them to have a future. As for population explosions and colonization? How many planets has your species colonized in the last few decades? How long until your population doubles? Or triples? Your people multiply like rodents, and you criticise the krogan for how fast they breed? All the issues you have with the krogan are the same problems the rest of the galaxy has with your people. Did you ever think about that? Well, did you?"

Leslie looked at the ground, "No I...I didn't."

Kara let out a long sigh, "Well I'm...I'm sorry, really I am it's just…"

The asari seemed to deflate and said in a quiet and nearly defeated tone, "I want the krogan to have a future. They have so much potential, so much to give the universe, and to rob them of that...it's just wrong. They're my people, they're my mom's people, and I'll gladly die if it means that they can have a future. Do you understand?"

Leslie looked over at her friend and nodded. She wasn't angry, not really. She knew Kara couldn't be rational about this kind of thing. Not with her relatives anyway. In the end, it was best just to accept what was going on and get this mission over with and hope against all hope it didn't doom the galaxy to more war.

Sighing Blake said, "Yes. I understand. Now, can we please move on and get this mission done?"

The asar nodded, and they headed on towards the exit of the pyramid.

* * *

><p>Kara looked at her boots as she and Leslie neared the exit. She hadn't meant to say what she said about the humans. She had hoped to show Leslie the good side of the krogan, not lecture her on her own people. Not yell at her. Not show her how bitter she could be.<p>

Looking ahead she saw the human had shouldered her rifle and wasn't walking quite as fast as she had been before.

Walking up to Leslie, Kara put her hand on her right shoulder and said, "Hey I'm...Look, I really am sorry for what happened back there, it's just…" Kara felt absolutely horrible she couldn't explain herself properly. As she looked at her friend though, she didn't seem all that mad.

Leslie just nodded and told her, "Don't worry about it. I get why this means so much to you, I really do. I just also worry about what could go wrong."

Kara agreed, "There's a risk sure, but I honestly believe that the krogan can change. Your species was a lot more violent and self destructive in the past, but you've stopped almost all of your internal conflict."

Leslie said as they exited the stone building and descended the stairs, "Maybe, but I'm not sure if all those old hatreds have gone away so much as our shared fear of all the other things in the universe has just temporarily made us forget we hate each other."

Kara shook her head as they neared the bottom, "Doesn't matter. If your people can change, the krogan can change. We just need to have faith Leslie."

The two Shadow Broker officers continued through the jungle, eventually coming to meet up with Kara's platoon on a hill overlooking the area that had been deforested. As she looked out onto the valley below Kara couldn't help but stare in wonder.

_Just how in fuck did Cerberus get all those people down there?_

On the valley below was a Cerberus camp that had dozens of buildings ranging from what appeared to be mess halls, medical centers, a shuttle bay, and there was even a battery of artillery near the center of the camp. The enemy camp was fairly spread out, and there were several patrols walking around the perimeter of the camp. Kara estimated that there were at least 1000 or so enemy troops there. Kara heard Leslie contacting the other platoons, who were apparently all along the perimeter of the Cerberus camp and had confirmed Kara's estimates. Leslie eventually closed her omni-tool and stared at the scene before her.

Looking over to Leslie the asari lieutenant asked, "OK captain, now what?"

The tall blond human told them, "We do what any good soldier does: take it up the chain and wait for more orders." Placing her hand to her helmet Leslie called in her comm-unit to try to reach Herja and relay the situation.

When she finally got through and told Kara's mom everything Leslie just sighed and nodded, "Yeah, understood...Look, I know what I'm doing, don't worry. And yes, she's still here...Sounds like a job... Think she can handle it?...Ah, good."

After closing the connection Leslie informed them, "Alright people, change of plans. Seems we need a bit more intel on just what the fuck they're doing here. S'Vipul, you're going in to get what information you can. See that square tent in the center?" Leslie asked pointing to the tent in question.

Kara followed Leslie's finger and nodded.

Blake smiled, "Good. Seems that the other platoons think that's the command tent. Plan is for the company to create a diversion for you to sneak in and find whatever information you can. Think you can do that?"

Kara was shocked. Not an hour ago Leslie had been babysitting her, and now she was sending her on a raid into a fortified enemy camp. She didn't know if her mom had ordered this with her in mind, Leslie just saw an opportunity to make Kara prove herself, she was trying to punish Kara for her usual antics of being loud and obnoxious, or if this was just an honest assignment. Kara didn't care in any case though. It was time to do her job.

The asari nodded, "You bet your ass I can."

Blake nodded, "Good. Let us know when you're in position and we'll be sure to give these bastards a show. Just be quick about it. We're sending you to gather intel, not fight a whole battalion alone."

The asari headed down the hill and after a few minutes came to the edge of where Cerberus had cleared out the local plantlife and set up camp. As a four soldier patrol went by Kara sent a message in her omni-tool that she was in position. A few seconds later, the whole tree line around the camp seemed to catch on fire.

Grenades, biotics, rockets, and plasma obliterated the patrols along the perimeter. An alarm was soon sounded, and the Cerberus forces came running out of their tent like prefab buildings like a swarm of insects whose nest was under attack.

Turning on her tactical cloak Kara charged into the camp, first taking cover behind a cluster of barrels as a squad of hostiled rushed past her, then dashing across a dirt trail just after an enemy IFV went zooming in the opposite direction of where a platoon of hostiles was running.

All around her as she jumped from cover to cover, hiding spot to hiding spot, Kara couldn't help but notice how disorganized Cerberus was. They were mostly just scampering about from one position to another, with no concept of organization or discipline. The asari was certain that her company could honestly just charge in now and take this camp.

Still, that wasn't why she was here. She had a job to do, and by the Goddess, she was going to accomplish it.

Eventually she came to her objective and just as a Cerberus soldier was opening the automatic door on the prefab command tent the asari rushed inside, quickly kneeling just beside the opening to minimize the chance of anyone bumping into her.

The inside was fairly spacious, with several terminals being manned by Cerberus troops. A large circular table that had a holographic display of the area was being overlooked by a female human with red hair, pale skin, and eyes that didn't have the glow of Reaper tech, leading Kara to believe that Cerberus wasn't being controlled by the Reapers, at least not completely.

The red haired human looked up from looking at the display and shouted in an obviously angry voice, "And just what in the flying fuck is going on out there?"

The soldier that had entered the building along with Kara reported, "We're under attack, what do you think!?"

The female demanded, "And just who is it? Krogan? Turians? Little Green Men? Who?!"

The soldier responded in a slightly timid voice, "I...uh it's dark and…"

The female cut him off and grabbed a helmet and rifle that were set on the display, "Alright, you're a moron, I get it. Alright people, get your asses in gear! We're headed out there now!"

The female human then lead all the Cerberus troops out to fight, and Kara headed over to the circular table. In her haste, the Cerberus commander had forgotten to put in place any safeguards or user restrictions. The asari wasted no time in setting up an uplink with the _Delaney _and began uploading the information stored on the display.

As she waited for the process to finish she took her sniper rifle off her back, aimed right at the center of the door and listened to the battle going on outside. Based on all the explosions and screaming she could hear, Kara guessed it wasn't going well for Cerberus. After she got confirmation that the data had been successfully uploaded the asari biotically smashed the display and charged out the door.

When she exited the tent she saw a squad of soldiers that were on fire and running around screaming at the top of their lungs, an IFV that had been reduced to molten metal, and several badly burned pieces of human flesh littered the ground.

Not stopping to take in the scenery, Kara ran as fast as she could to the tree line, taking cover when needed to avoid running into any hostiles or to get shot by enemy or friendly fire. After a few near misses, the asari lieutenant managed to exit the enemy camp. As soon as she did that she deactivated her cloaking device, sent a message to Leslie that said she was successful, and nearly collapsed trying to sit down against a tree.

After a few minutes Leslie called her in her helmet's comm-unit, "You really OK Kara?"

The asari answered smiling to herself, "Sure. Nothing to it. Told you I could get it done."

The human told her over the radio, "And that was good work. Now, get back to the pyramid ASAP. Just got word from Herja, and you're not going to like this."

Kara forced herself up, her legs feeling like they were made of stone, and asked, "What exactly is going on now?"

Leslie just said, "I'll fill you in once you get back. Let's just say for now this mission might have been a lot more important than you first thought."


	9. Tuchanka IV: Clash of the Titans

**A/N**: I know it's a lot, but please try to get through the whole chapter before passing judgement.

* * *

><p><strong>Kelphic Valley. 2350 local time.<strong>

Captain Allen Ryan looked around the chamber in the pyramid and thought that things were finally getting close to organized. The officer had his plasma rifle on his back and his helmet under his left arm. Most of the others had removed their armor plating and were just wearing their under armor, but Allen wasn't quite ready to relax just yet. He still had yet to learn just what exactly their mission was here.

After he and his company had aided Captain Shepard and The Doctor they had gone back to the _Delaney _and had spent several hours loading and delivering supplies to the rest of the battalion, who had holed up in a pyramid overlooking the Cerberus camp. By now he and the rest of his company were tired, hungry, and in some cases dehydrated. They hadn't had the chance to eat before the battle, and combat is especially taxing on soldiers whose metabolisms require extra amounts of food.

Still, despite their fatigue, the Shadow Broker forces had managed to set up enough cots for the entire unit, brought in multiple containers of food and water, and were finally able to take a few hours rest.

Cots were organized in neat rows in one section of the chamber, with boxes of food placed on the opposite side. Lamps were scattered about the room giving enough light to see, but not so much as to not allow troops to rest. In one corner Allen saw Herja and the rest of the officers gathering around a lamp, all of whom had only their under armour on, and walked over to them. As he arrived Kara just shook her head and smirked.

Allen was honestly just glad she didn't call him dad again and give some witty comment on how he was always on edge.

_We're on fucking Tuchanka! Sure, you can't really sleep in this, but shouldn't _someone _else be wearing armor?_

Herja brought him out of his internal monologue as she briefed her officers, "Captain Blake's initial mission to recon the valley, as well as Captain Ryan's mission in helping to extract survivors from a crashed turian shuttle, has revealed a very dangerous secret: Cerberus is in possession of some kind of bomb about 5 kilometers from here. Data we got thanks to Lt. S'Vipul shows that the bomb has been excavated and is nearly ready to be activated."

Lt Scott asked, "Excavated? Why would the krogan bury a bomb in the middle of-"

Herja cut him off, "It's not a krogan bomb. It's turian."

Everyone fell silent, though Allen nodded to himself. _Well, at least that explains why the turians are here._

Herja continued in a serious and vaguely threatening tone, "Not one word of that will ever be said to anyone else for as long as you all live. Is that clear? Because if it is, then we risk a whole other galactic war, one that we _really _can't afford right now."

Pulling up her omni-tool the major displayed a map of the immediate area, including the Cerberus camp and the ruins where the bomb was located.

Herja informed them, "I've been informed that Captain Shepard plans to attack the bomb site at first light, so that leaves us just under six hours to rest and," Kara raised her hand and Herja sighed, "Yes Lieutenant?"

Kara asked, "Why don't we just go in now? They were barely keeping it together when I infiltrated the camp."

Herja explained in a voice that Allen could detect hints of worry and annoyance in, "Because when you went in we had the element of surprise. They'll be even more alert now. A lot of us have been in combat and should probably rest while we can. Cerberus will probably have their people up all night waiting for us. Besides, the data shows that the bomb isn't quite ready to be activated yet, so we don't have to just rush in right now. Anything else?"

Kara shook her head and Herja went on, "Here's the plan: At dawn, we have the eight gunships we have to bombard the enemy camp on one end, and the rest of us attack on the opposite side of the camp, making out priority the artillery batteries. Once we have those, we secure the rest of the camp, and failing that, we hold until we receive word that the bomb has been disabled, then pull back and call for extraction. Questions? Comments? Concerns?"

Allen asked, "Just how many hostiles are there exactly?"

"According to sensor readings from the _Delaney _there are about 800 or so hostiles left. They have a few IFV's and possibly mechs, though we can't confirm that. "

Allen nodded. _Great. Outnumbered and outgunned. This just keeps getting better._

When there were no further questions Herja dismissed the group.

When the others had gone Kara came up to Allen and told him, "You know, it's really beautiful outside. If you want to make mom an offer, now might not be a bad time."

Allen frowned, "Right before a battle? Are you serious?"

Kara nodded, "Yeah, it would be all poetic and shit. Just like in all those stories you humans like to read."

The human shook his head, "First, that's the stupidest thing you have ever said to me. Second, although I'm grateful for your advice, I think I can handle that myself."

Kara shrugged and walked off, "Suit yourself."

Shaking his head Allen went over to where Herja was standing just outside the door, the steps just in front of her. The asari smiled as she admired the jungle before her and the stars above.

Coming up behind her Allen said, "Never thought I'd see green on a planet like this. Quite the sight isn't it?"

Herja nodded, "Indeed it is. When this is all over, would you mind coming back here? My family's been planning a vacation of sorts here for a while now and...I'd like to bring you along."

Allen's heart warmed at the words. There were so many things he wanted to say right now. Here he was, high above a breathtaking view of a jungle with a billion stars shining in the sky. Truly, if he was trying to find a set up for a proposal, this would be the best spot.

Still, it just wasn't the time.

Allen just smiled and told her, "I'd like that."

After a few more minutes of staring at the stars the asari turned and told him, "I know it'll be hard, but try to get some rest. We'll need it."

As he watched Herja head back inside Allen made a promise to himself. If he and Herja both survived their assignment to this wasteland planet, he would find or make a chance to make her that offer.

_No more excuses or waiting. It's time I resolved this one way or the other._

After taking one last look at the sky, Allen headed back inside to get what sleep he could.

* * *

><p>"Dad. Dad! Come on, wake up."<p>

Allen opened his eyes to see Kara starring at him, fully outfitted for battle. Unlike a lot of other times Allen saw her though, she didn't have some happy smile on her face. In fact, she looked about ready to murder someone.

_And she says I'm too serious._

Allen nodded and rolled off his cot. As he began to put on his armor he honestly wondered how much good a few hours sleep would do him when the pills he had taken to knock himself out were making him want to pass out.

As he finished and grabbed his rifle from under his cot he reminded himself it was either that or he wouldn't have gotten any sleep at all.

_Still, wake up. Go fight a battle for a couple of hours. Set up camp. Get 5 hours of sleep then go fight again. Not exactly good for you._

The captain joined the rest of his company as they exited the structure, headed down the steps, and headed into the jungle to await the order to attack.

The sun was just starting to come over the horizon by the time the battalion had gotten into position all along the treeline on the east edge of the camp. The air was surprisingly chilly, and a breeze made Allen shiver a bit as he looked around. His battalion had lined up in a single line taking cover behind trees and bushes. Leslie and Oscar Company were on Allen's left, Herja and Lima Team on his right.

Cerberus had set up multiple stone slabs and barricades in their camp, and they had several squads in each of the half dozen patrols Allen could see walking in and around the base. Several small fires could also be seen, as could a few destroyed IFV's. Further off in the distance the artillery batteries, 10 in total, could be seen moving in the direction of where the bomb was located.

After a few shells were fired Allen heard in his comm-unit, "Major Pruor, this is The Doctor. The turians stepped up their time table and have begun their attack. I need those guns destroyed Now!"

Herja responded, "Understood. Alright people, you heard her. Attack!"

All along the tree line, hundreds of Shadow Broker troops opened fire with everything they had. At the same time the battalion opened fire with a wave of biotics, grenades, and plasma fire the squadron of gunships arrived and began to fire rockets and machine gun fire at the enemy at various locations in their base.

After a few seconds of sustained fire, the troops burst out of the tree line and made a mad dash into the enemy camp. No sooner had the first squads breached the perimeter then Cerberus began to counter attack. A full company of troops charged from behind the tents and engaged the Shadow Broker soldiers in hand to hand combat. While this was going on, engineers were setting up turrets in the few open paths leading further into the camp.

A Centurion lunged at Allen, only for the captain to swing around him, kick him in the leg, and shoot him in the back. Ryan then smashed in the head of another enemy soldier, spotted a turret that was about to open fire, and logged a grenade at it. The turret exploded, but not before firing off a burst that killed three members of Allen's company.

The other turrets began to fire just as the last of the Cerberus infantry were eliminated, and several troops were cut down. Biotics and tech attacks destroyed them quickly enough though, and Herja seemed more determined than ever.

Turning to Allen she shouted, "Ryan, secure those guns. The rest of you on me!"

The major took Lima Team and Oscar Company down a path that according to Allen's HUD lead to the enemy command tent. The human took his troops straight through the camp to the enemy batteries, which had been firing this entire time.

Just as Allen and his troops cleared some of the tents and came into an open area one of the troops behind the captain screamed, "Incoming!"

Turning to his left Allen saw a rocket coming, and attempted to clear out of it's way. A second later it landed and exploded right behind Allen, killing several soldiers and propelling the captain several feet in the air. Allen fell on a stone slab, with his lower torso making contact. The man sighed in pain as he felt a few of his lower ribs crack. Sliding off the slab, he sat up against it, tried to aim his rifle, and began to fire at the enemy's around him.

The area Victor Company had come to was an intersection with paths wide enough for IFV's to move through. A few dozen meters away were the artillery pieces, whose fire Allen was sure would cause him to go deaf if it continued. There were several over points the enemy was using around the area Victor Company was coming out of, and enemies with rockets prevented the gunships from getting close and providing support.

Allen was unable to properly aim his rifle, but from his position he could fire from the hip and took out several hostiles who were exposed from where he was sitting. After enough had died the rest began to fire at Allen, and he took several hits to the chest and a few to the head, and although his armor protected him, it still caused him a great amount of pain.

Due to this distraction though, Allen's company quickly broke through and eliminated the hostiles at the intersection and assaulted the artillery, which seemed to be automated and run from a single terminal that was surrounded by several stone slabs.

Forcing himself up despite the pain, Allen moved as quickly as he could to the terminal as his company spread out and took cover awaiting Cerberus' inevitable counter attack.

Ryan said in his comm-unit as he disabled the guns, "Doctor, the guns are offline, I repeat they are off line!"

The captain could barely hear the reply as rifle fire and explosions from behind him began, "Good work captain. I'm patching you into a marine that can give you firing coordinates. Stand by."

Allen didn't even have time to ask what that meant before he heard a new voice in his helmet that had an accent he couldn't quite place yell out with the sounds of explosions and gunfire in the background, "Hey, you our support?"

Allen stammered, "What? Yeah I guess. What's-"

The voice interrupted him, "Good, because we need it now. Focus fire on grid 294935 by 360875. Copy?"

Allen quickly typed in the coordinates and the batteries shifted slightly before firing again. After a few seconds the voice began to cheer, "Yeah, that's the shit yeah! Alright, shift fire-"

Allen was knocked to the ground by a series of explosions that obliterated the artillery pieces, sending pieces of metal into the air and into the backs of several Shadow Broker troops.

* * *

><p>Major Herja Pruor lead Lima Team and Oscar Company down a large dirt pathway, biotically ripping apart hostiles as she went. Some were stupid enough to stand right in front of her and with a flick of her wrist they were reduced to a pile of blood and shit. Others tried to hide in between their encampments, only to be eliminated with a singularity and a few warp blasts or grenades from one of the troops trailing Herja.<p>

As they neared the command tent they spread out, Oscar Company surrounding the building while Herja and the others entered. Inside was a female human with short red hair and pale skin, along with a few dozen others manning various terminals and talking with the rest of the Cerberus forces outside.

When she saw Herja and her team enter the Cerberus leader immediately picked up a grenade from the table in front of her, only for the asari major to biotically throw it at one of the nearby desks.

Herja quickly advanced on the enemy commander, deflecting several punches and kicks as she forced her opponent into a corner. The Cerberus officer charged at Herja with her omni-blade, but Herja caught her arm, bent it in the opposite way it was supposed to go, and kicked out her adversary's leg. When the red headed enemy officer tried to reach for a knife embedded in her boot, Herja snapped her neck.

Looking around she saw that the tent had been taken, although three of her team had been killed when one enemy tried to surrender, only to be hiding grenades under his arms.

_And that's why we don't take prisoners._

Along with the rest of her team, Herja went outside to discover Cerberus had regrouped. On her left Herja could see her own forces taking cover behind the enemy buildings and cover points, several of them injured or dead. On the right, both down the main pathway and from a corner leading to another path a few meters ahead of Herja, were several squads of hostiles approaching, and an IFV rushing towards them.

The major called out, "Shieldwall!" and Herja, Carna, Kara, and a few other asari formed a biotic wall and blocked several volleys from the main gun of the enemy IFV as it approached. While this was happening, Blake and a few dozen others gathered around the asari and fired at the enemy, killing several of them before the unit began to advance and forcing the IFV and last few enemies to abandon the area entirely.

Just as they were about to charge and finish them off, Herja heard a series of explosions coming from where the artillery pieces were. Looking in their direction, Herja watched in horror as the area where she had sent Victor Company was going up in flames so high that two gunships that were over them were engulfed in the explosion.

Panic rushed through Herja as she screamed out, "Allen!"

Looking down the path that would take her to the area the major nearly paled. Now just meters from where she was standing was an IFV that was disembarking troops as well as an enemy Atlas Mech.

Thinking quickly, Herja grabbed the IFV before it could get a shot off or unload any more troops, smashed it as flat as she could, and sent it flying into the Atlas, smashing the driver as it impacted. Just as she was about to move forward though, a bright light began to shine on what was left of the mech and tank.

_Oh shit!_

Turning around she tackled Kara to the ground and wrapped them both in a biotic field as she yelled, "Everybody down!"

The remains of the tank and Atlas exploded, sending shrapnel and debris flying in all directions.

* * *

><p>Ears ringing, vision blurred, and in more pain than he had ever known before, Allen pushed himself up and quickly moved to take cover with what remained of his company. After he had taken cover behind a stone slab next to a squad that had been killed by very large pieces of shrapnel he shouted into his headset, "Doctor, guns are gone! I repeat the guns are gone! Can provide no more support!"<p>

Allen looked at the hostiles approaching and saw three IFV's, several dozen enemy infantry, some of whom had riot shields made of metal, and some sort of walking tank mech thing!

After trying and failing to aim his rifle a few times Allen heard someone in his helmet respond, but couldn't make out what they said.

Putting the volume at full blast he called out, "Say again! Did not copy!"

The Doctor voice yelled in Allen's ears and against the gunfire at both ends he actually heard what she said, "Understood captain!"

Unable to fight back, Allen observed as the enemy continued to advance despite the hail of missiles, biotics, grenades, and the occasional airstrike. One IFV had already been destroyed, along with several enemy troops, but it didn't seem to bother them. On the left Allen could see the mech tank thing prepare to fire another missile when a series of blue explosions from behind it cause it to start to turn around.

When it was about halfway done a flash of blue light charged up to it and smashed in the glass cockpit of the tank, and an asari Shadow Broker soldier reached in, grabbed the pilot, and threw him to the ground before taking off his head with a warp.

Stepping back from the tank the asari biotically lifted it and sent it hurtling into an IFV as several missiles and biotic blasts hit both machines as they collided. The resulting explosion exterminated the attacking force, leaving only charred remains. Allen attempted to stand and saw Herja and the rest of the battalion heading to their position.

The asari major didn't seem to have any injuries, though Allen was sure she was missing one or two members of their old unit. Behind his CO was Oscar Company, or what remained of it. Several had sustained injuries, and Allen could see Leslie was missing her helmet, had some nasty looking cuts on her face, and she walked with a limp in her right leg, which seemed to be missing some of it's armor and had some of the fabric torn away revealing a horrific looking injury.

As Herja eventually made it to where Allen was she couldn't help but smile and told him in a slightly choked up and happy voice, "I'm...I'm glad to see you made it."

Allen nodded and looked around. Several dozen members of his company had been killed or injured. Pieces of the dead were scattered about, or had large pieces of metal sticking out of them. Several others had taken hits from weapons powerful enough to go through their armor or in areas not covered by plating. Judging by the relatively few members of Oscar Company he saw, the human guessed Blake's unit had the same experience.

Ryan nodded, "Yeah well, a lot of people didn't." Looking around he asked in a tired but still somewhat affectionate tone, "So just where is our little princess at?"

Herja actually laughed at that, "Who? Kara? I sent her back with the a group of the more severely injured. Don't worry, she's fine. Wasn't too happy to be sent home early though."

Allen nodded, "So that was the last group then?"

Herja told him, "Yeah. The other Cerberus troops all already died or fled."

Blake then came up behind Herja and Allen asked in as polite a voice as he could muster, "So um...what happened to you?"

Leslie scowled, which was even more off putting than normal putting given the cuts on the right side of her face, and answered, "Your girlfriend here decided to use a tank to destroy one of those Atlas'. Shrapnel destroyed my helmet, _and _nearly caused me to bleed to death!"

Herja had a sorrowful look on her face when she replied, "I'm...I'm sorry. I had to-"

Leslie's face softened a bit, "I get it, and I'm not really bitter about it, but next time watch where you throw the enemy tanks, OK?"

Herja promised, "Sure thing. But look at it this way: at least you got some scars to show your son."

Blake laughed, "Ha! Um, no. We have equipment that can remove scars, right?"

Herja nodded, "Sure we do, but-"

Leslie explained, "I'd rather not have my son looking at a horribly disfigured face while he's growing up. So no, I won't have any scars to show Leo when I get back home." Leslie turned to Allen and asked, "So what about you?"

Allen breathed out in pain as he reported, "Oh, just a few dozen broken bones and massive bruising. Maybe some internal bleeding. Nothing to write home about."

Herja nodded and looked grim as she ordered, "Good. You two get back to the ship. I'll get our casualties," Herja took a breath as she looked around, "um, sorted out and report back to The Doctor."

As her two company commanders nodded and left to go find a transport, Herja looked around and took a survey of just how many people had died here. After a few minutes she walked in between two tents where she knew none of her troops would see her, sat down, removed her helmet, and began to silently cry.

* * *

><p><strong>Tuchankan Orbit. Optimal Outcomes Cruiser <strong>_**Delaney. **_**4 hours later.**

Major Herja Pruor stood in front of a holographic projection of her handler with her hands behind her back and a forlorn look on her face as she listened to Liara as she gave a report on how the operation had gone on her end.

The Broker Handler had an equally grim and exhausted look as she reported, "The operation was...a success I suppose. We managed to disable the bomb, though the turians suffered heavy casualties. The krogan are still unaware of what happened, and I believe it is unlikely they will be able to discover just where the device came from given their limited technical knowledge. How did your unit fare Herja?"

The major squared her shoulders, sighed, and told her superior, "I'm afraid we didn't do very well on our end either ma'am. Lima Team is down to 30 soldiers, 5 of whom are injured. Oscar Company has 74 surviving members, including 14 wounded. And Victor Company only has 68 troops left, of whom 15 are injured. 2 out of our 8 gunships were also lost." Herja looked down, "Not exactly a victory if you ask me."

Liara nodded, "Perhaps not, but we managed to push Cerberus' forces off the planet. That will make what we are about to do easier."

Herja looked back up, "And what's that ma'am?"

Liara told her in a surprisingly caring tone, "You don't need to worry about that for now. Get some rest and I'll contact you when we are ready to proceed with the next stage of our operation. Liara out."

The hologram faded, and Herja deflated and put her head into her hands. So many had died, and it was all her fault! She should have tried to coordinate the attack better. She should have been more alert to what was going on around her. She should have come out of there with more people. Instead she charged in, biotics flaring, and relied on brute force and firepower to win the day. That had cost a lot of people their lives.

Letting out one last breath the asari stood up straight, held her head high, and walked out of the room and down the passageway leading to her room. No matter what, she couldn't let on what she was feeling. Not to others, not even to herself.

_As soon as you start to feel doubt, that's when you lose._

Eventually she entered her room and looked around and noticed how empty it felt. Allen was still in the med-bay, and without him here it just seemed...wrong. Like a part of her was missing somehow.

_Is this how it'll feel when he's gone for good?_

Shaking her head of the thoughts she went over to a cabinet and opened it. There were two shelves, one with medical supplies such as medications, bandages, and stimulants. The other had various bottles of alcohol and a few glasses. Allen had told her it was a bad idea to store those two so close together when they had moved into the ship, but Herja paid him no mind. It made things easier for her, and she wasn't stupid enough to mix medications with drinking.

Taking a full bottle of light blue liqueur she sat down at her desk, opened it, and began to drink deeply as she watched the slideshow of pictures she had set up to play on the frame near the terminal. Pictures of her family on vacationing on Thessia, of her daughter from the time she was an infant until the present day, even a few pictures of her and Allen on Sanves.

All those moments reminded her of what she had to lose, and more importantly, of why she couldn't let fear or doubt cloud her mind. As she set the now half empty bottle of alcohol down she promised her family and herself that no matter what she would never let anything like the blood bath she had just gone through happen again.

Even though she knew she couldn't save everyone, that didn't mean she should stop trying. From now on, she would do her damndest to make sure _everyone _would go home again.

* * *

><p><strong>15 hours later.<strong>

"_Major Pruor, your presence is requested in the comm room."_

Though the words were only as loud as they needed to be to wake Herja up, they may as well have been blasted into her ears by a deluxe sound system. As she slowly regained consciousness Herja sat up on the bed to discover she was on top of her sheets and still in her uniform, which was unusual for her as she usually slept nude. Looking over at the desk though, she understood how she could fall asleep still dressed on top of the covers of her bed.

Four empty bottles were on the desk, with another on the floor that was still half full. Slowly making an effort to stand, attempting to ignore the annoying ship VI, the splitting headache, and generally uncomfortable feeling her body had after sleeping in her fatigues, the major made her from the bed to just in front of the door. After getting herself together, she went down the passageway, albeit slowly, and eventually made it into the comm room.

After she had taken a moment to compose herself she told the ship's VI to go ahead with the call, thanking the Goddess that whoever was on the other end wouldn't be be able to smell her breath or body.

After a few moment an image of Liara appeared with a smile on a somewhat less exhausted face than the one from the previous day and commented in a somewhat playful tone, "Herja, I'm pleased you finally found the time to answer me."

Happy to hear her boss wasn't made Herja sheepishly apologised, "I'm sorry ma'am I was um...passed out."

Liara nodded, "Well, I'm sorry to have to disturb you now so soon after our last mission, but I'm afraid it can't wait. We're about to cure the genophage, and we need everyone we can get for this fight."

Her exhaustion and hangover gone Herja asked, after a few seconds of disbelief, "Re...really ma'am? This...this is really happening?"

Liara nodded, "Indeed it is. I wish to personally brief your battalion, if that would be acceptable to you?"

Herja nodded furiously, "Of course! This...we won't let you down ma'am."

"Good. Let me know when you and your people assembled. Liara out."

As the image of her boss faded away Herja ordered over the ship's intercom, "All hands, this is Major Pruor. All infantry troops are to report to the briefing room in half an hour fully outfitted for combat. And I mean Everyone!"

After running back to her room and taking the fastest shower she could, the asari major was walking into the briefing room with her helmet under her left arm and a determined look on her face. When she was about halfway to the front of the room she stopped however. Something wasn't right. Looking around the room she knew what it was: not everyone was here. A wave of furious anger swept over the asari major as she turned around, walked out of the room, and went straight to the med bay.

The medbay itself was a fairly spacious room, with long lines of beds on either side, medical sensors and regeneration equipment near a few of the troops. A dozen doctors were walking about checking on the various patients. As she approached the center of the room she spotted Allen, who had a large cast on his torso and waved to her with a smile on his face.

Giving her lover a quick nod the asari went over to the ship's head doctor, a tall thin man with black hair and blue eyes, and asked in a loud and clearly angry tone and asked, "Doctor Pierce, is there any reason why these soldiers aren't currently in the briefing room?"

Pierce replied with a disapproving look, "Yeah. They all have injuries that aren't fully healed. You can't put them into combat."

Herja went right up to his face and snarled, "I can and I will."

Pierce shook his head, "No major you _can't. _As a doctor I have-"

Herja flared her biotics, lifted Pierce off the ground and told him, "As a doctor you have Nothing!" The asari twisted her wrist slightly and Pierce's left arm shattered, pieces of bone protruding from the skin causing Pierce to scream out in pain. "_I _say what happens on this ship," Herja twisted her wrist again and Pierce's right leg suffered the same fate, "_I _say who fights when and where." Another twist and it was Pierce's other leg, "And _I _say we need everyone right fucking now!" With one final twist Pierce's last limb was shattered.

The major looked at her troops, who were all staring at her with a mix of fear and disbelief, and asked, "Anyone here who can't walk?"

When they all shook their heads she nodded, "Good, because you all have 20 minutes to get your shit in gear and get to the briefing room. Now!"

Herja turned her attention back to the doctor, "As for you, if you or _any _of your people ever disobey me or tell me someone can't fight when I say they can again, I'll kill you." The asari threw him against a bulkhead and her biotics died after a few seconds.

"Looks like you killed him already."

Herja turned to see Allen, who was the last soldier still in the room, and shrugged, "Whatever. Doctors are replaceable. Besides, I can't have people questioning me on my own ship."

The human nodded. Herja was glad to see he didn't seem to have any disapproving looks on his face, or any emotions at all really. The human male just walked calmly out of the room and went to don his armor, leaving Herja to watch as the doctors slowly treated the critically injured man and then exited the room through another door at the back with terrified looks on their faces.

* * *

><p>18 minutes later Herja stood in front of her entire battalion, a hologram of Liara T'Soni on her left, and listened to her superior as she briefed them on what was to come.<p>

Liara spoke, "I'm sorry to have to send you back into battle so soon, but in truth, I have no choice." A hologram of a tower appeared and Liara explained, "This is the Shroud, the last of a series of towers of Salarian design meant to help Tuchanka recover from nuclear winter. We intend to use it as a means to disperse a cure for the genophage into the tuchankan atmosphere."

After a series of mumbles and murmurs Liara went on, "Yes, that is the overall goal of this campaign. I know many feel this may not be a wise decision, but there is no other option. If we don't cure the virus, then the krogan will likely not enter the war until it is too late. Thus, we have to act now."

A series of holograms showing a Reaper battle group entering the atmosphere was then shown, as well as fire from the ground to space cannon Herja and Lima Team secured scoring several direct hits, knocking out all but one enemy destroyer and a troop transport.

When the presentation was done Liara explained, "What you just saw happened a few hours ago. The Reapers have landed additional forces on the planet, and are now in possession of the Shroud. We are fortunate they have not seen fit to destroy it, or this would all have been for nothing."

Hitting a few more buttons on her end, Liara brought up the Shroud again, this time with several displays of krogan and turian ground troops positioned around it, "Our plan is to take out, or at least distract the Reaper forces long enough for a small team to infiltrate the Shroud, upload the cure, and exfiltrate before the cure is noticed. From what I'm told, once the cure is in released, it will only require a few seconds before enough is in the atmosphere for it to be effective.

"As for the battle plan itself, we have the good fortune of having two krogan battalions and a regiment of turian infantry, as well as a squadron of turian fighters from a carrier currently in orbit. They will be doing the majority of the fighting. We hope to surround the Reaper and hit it with enough firepower for it to be destroyed or at least be forced to retreat. You will be scouting the approach to the Shroud, provide whatever support you can from the air, and will be engaging enemy forces if needed. Any questions?"

In the silence of the room Herja nearly couldn't breath. Here was her chance to prove herself. To take part in a battle millennia in the making. And now she was being denied that? No. That...that couldn't happen.

The major asked, "Ma'am, do you mean for us to just sit back and watch while the battle unfolds and take pot shots at the enemy?"

Liara shook her head, "No major, however you and your battalion don't have the numbers to be of any real use on the front lines. If any situation were to present itself where you would be helpful, I will order you in."

Herja nodded relieved, "Understood."

With that, the unit was dismissed and they headed off to the shuttle bay to prepare to deploy.

* * *

><p>Herja stood in the shuttle waiting for the order to go. She looked in the back to the five members of her team that were still not at full strength and felt guilty at having to put them there. She thought back to what had happened earlier with Pierce and felt awful she had done that but...they needed <em>everyone<em> for this fight; they couldn't afford to fail on this mission. If that meant her people feared her and they lost one good doctor so be it; she wasn't about to lose the war because some human thought he was superior to her just because of some degree he had.

She eventually received orders to deploy, and the major took a seat and tried to relax as the shuttle descended planetward. In all, only six shuttles were being deployed, and as they descended into the atmosphere, Herja wondered just how many would be coming back.

_Doesn't matter. As long as the Genophage is cured, nothing else matters. _

After a few minutes Herja moved from her seat and moved into the cockpit, the two human pilots focusing in their jobs and not paying the major any mind. Looking through the screen the asari saw the large bunker complex that was to be the rally point for the offensive.

Massive square stone structures and a few now defunct orbital guns were surrounded by dozens of krogan and turian IFV's. The shuttles soon began a holding pattern over the area and awaited further orders.

Putting a hand up to her helmet Herja called in, "Major Pruor to the Doctor. Come in Doctor." When she got no response she tried again, only to no avail.

She was starting to become worried when she heard over the sounds of gunfire and the occasional biotic blast, "The Doctor hears you Herja! I'm-" the sound of a burst of machine gun fire interrupted Liara as she replied, "I'm a bit busy at the moment."

Herja signaled for the pilots to get ready to deploy the soldiers when she asked, "Where are you? We can provide-"

Liara interrupted her, "No! Stay where you are. It's nothing serious, and honestly we're almost done here. By the time you got here, you would just have to get back on your shuttles." A biotic blast could be heard and Liara said in a calmer voice, "There, that's the last of them. Stand by major, we're about to begin our attack."

Herja, though disappointed she didn't get to take part in the little skirmish below, responded, "Copy that. Awaiting orders."

After a few excruciatingly long minutes of waiting, Herja heard The Doctor in her helmet, "Herja, the convoys are taking multiple paths on their way to the Shroud, and will meet at a road junction about half a kilometer from their target. I need you and your troops to scout the roads and the destination of the convoys."

Herja acknowledged, and the six separate shuttles went in six separate directions scouting ahead for the convoys. Eventually the convoys met at the junction after an uneventful few minutes, though two of them had been attacked by thresher maws en route to the rendezvous and lost most of their strength. The convoy that Captain Shepard and the cure had been in had been nearly wiped out. Herja had ordered the transport nearest to provide support, only for The Doctor to countermand that order. Something about not being able to do any good.

When the soldiers were disembarking from their transports and lining up and preparing to make the assault, Herja couldn't help but feel...angry. No. She was beyond angry, she was fucking pissed! She should be down there! She should be able to fight right along side the krogan for their future.

Sighing, the asari officer looked across the field and surveyed the area the soldiers and IFV's would need to cross. The sky was a dark grey, almost black due to the Shroud. The ground leading to the ruins the Shroud was in was devoid of any kind of cover, and Herja could see several units of Reaper troops scattered about.

Herja called in again to The Doctor, "Ma'am, all troops are in position, I repeat, are in position. Ready to attack."

Liara, who had stayed behind to try and coordinate the assault, replied, "Understood Herja. Turian fighters are inbound now. Provide whatever support you can from the air."

After a few more seconds a squadron of turian fighters came rushing past the shuttles and over the heads of the infantry below. In a few seconds, they were engaging the Reaper and striking at the enemy infantry below. At the same time, the IFV's and infantry were advancing, the krogan charging in the center, the turians attempting to flank the enemy.

As Herja and the shuttles advanced overhead towards the Reaper, Herja and a human female took gunner positions and used the turrets on the sides of the shuttles to kill as many of the hostiles below as they could.

The Reaper was taking out the turian fighters quickly though, and only a few minutes after the ground assault had begun, a single blast of the Reaper's main gun took out a third of the IFV's, and a considerable number of infantry.

The gunships circled the Reaper, firing at it and trying to get it's attention, but it seemed unconcerned with Herja's unit's efforts, and instead mainly focused on eliminating the krogan and turian infantry. A few more blasts, and almost all of them were destroyed, the turian fighters withdrawing soon after. Herja cursed before ordering her own forces to retreat, the shuttles activating their cloaks as they fled.

The major relayed to Liara, "Doctor, come in! Entire assault force eliminated. I repeat, the assault force is gone. Orders?"

The Doctor was silent for a few moments before answering, "Maintain a safe distance from the Shroud major. Under no circumstances approach. Is that understood?"

Herja asked in a voice that bordered on yelling, ""And what are we supposed to do?"

Liara yelled back, "Stay Back! Shepard's radioed in that she has a plan and has just gone to implement it. There's nothing you can do Herja. I'm sorry, but you need to-"

Herja stopped listening to The Doctor when, out of the corner of the screen, she caught a glimpse of something she couldn't believe. Yelling at the pilots to rotate the shuttle, she saw it was just what she thought she saw: Kalros, the mother of all Thresher Maws. Herja stared in awe of the great beast, the one that according to krogan legend was the very first of it's kind and so fearsome that it couldn't be killed, wrestling with a Reaper.

_Dad, if you could just be here now to see this._

Herja watched as the worm began to wrap itself around the Reaper, only for it to be cut in half by a molten stream of metal. Despite this injury, the Thresher Maw still managed to wrap it's remaining body around the sentient starship, crushing it as if it were it's prey, and dragged it down into the soil of tuchanka while the legs of the Reaper dug into it.

The asari major was stunned by what she had just seen. What may have been the dominant predator of the planet had just destroyed one of the most powerful ships in the known universe, and may have been fatally wounded in doing so. To see such an event unfold before her eyes...there were simply no words to describe what it was to Herja.

Awsome? Yes. Fearsome? Yes. Humbling? Of course.

It wasn't until about a minute or so after the event had passed that Herja finally became aware of the voice in her helmet.

"Herja come in! Are you receiving me?"

The Shadow Broker officer quickly responded, "Yes, yes I'm here. I'm sorry I just...I-"

Liara asked, "What's happening out there? We've lost all contact with Shepard and the team she took with her. Can you get a closer look?"

Herja said that she could, and the shuttle approached the Shroud, which was starting to discharge some kind of white, snow like substance moments before it began to explode. Just before Herja was going to give a horrifying report to her boss though, the pilots were able to spot a group of survivors boarding the last remaining krogan IFV, a single human in grey and red armor among them.

Herja reported, "Doctor, Shepard and her team are headed back to base. I repeat, headed back to base. They did it ma'am." In a disbelieving voice she went on to say as she looked at the snow like material that was filling the atmosphere, "The...the genophage is cured ma'am."

Liara sighed and acknowledged, "Thank the Goddess. It seems that your work here is done Herja. I'll be sending you instructions on your next assignment soon. In the meantime, you and your troops have earned a rest. Head back to your ship, and await further orders."

Herja nodded, "Copy that." And the squadron of shuttles ascended into the heavens.

As they entered the upper atmosphere, Herja couldn't help but feel cheated. This was her fight, her battle, her people in one way, shape or form. And she was robbed of something she had every right to be a part of!

_No, that's not right. No matter whatever may have happened today, whether anyone knows it or not, I was there. I helped win, and so did my soldiers. If not for us, then we may well have lost here today._

The asari officer kept telling herself those things, even though they seemed hollow, as her shuttle landed in the hangar bay. All of her troops soon began exiting the shuttles, not one having a scratch on them. Somehow, even she knew she shouldn't feel this way, Herja Pruor couldn't feel like she had been defeated.

So, after getting out of her armor, she did the only thing she could do: she headed down to one of the lounges of the ship, and poured herself a drink.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: OK, so first off, thanks for getting through this chapter. I know it's long, and I normally prefer to write long chapters, but I can see how the last part may have been a slog. You see, I never really intended to have the Shroud mission included in this story as it would probably have killed all my characters. I didn't see a way I could have skipped over it though, so instead of having one chapter of action and another of...well nothing, I decided to include them both in one long chapter.

I hope you all understand, and that it wasn't too bad. Constructive criticism is always welcome, and I hope you all have a great week!


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